Introducing Google’s Geocoding Service
As you’ve learned in previous installments of this ongoing series (tutorial 1, tutorial 2, tutorial 3, tutorial 4), the Google Maps API provides an amazingly capable solution for building compelling spatial applications. Yet one of the glaring omissions from the API has been the ability to map locations without the use of third-party solutions for converting mailing addresses to their corresponding coordinates; just as is the case with the Yahoo! and Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping APIs locations can only be pinpointed using their latitudinal and longitudinal descriptors. Whereas the latter two solutions have offered built-in conversion capabilities for some time, Google Maps API users have had to rely on services such as geocoder.us or the US Census Bureau TIGER/Line data for such tasks.
http://www.developer.com/lang/jscript/article.php/3615681
