How can I use Google Map Feed API to get a list of my Google Maps using Python?

Question

I want to create a script in Python which downloads the current KML files of all the Maps I created on Google Maps.

To do so manually, I can use this:

http://maps.google.com.br/maps/ms?msid=USER_ID.MAP_ID&msa=0&output=kml

where USER_ID is a constant number Google uses to identify me, and MAP_ID is the individual map identifier generated by the link icon on top-right corner.

This is not very straightforward, because I have to manually browse "My Places" page on Google Maps, and get the links one by one.

From Google Maps API HTTP Protocol Reference:

The Map Feed is a feed of user-created maps.

This feed's full GET URI is:

http://maps.google.com/maps/feeds/maps/default/full

This feed returns a list of all maps for the authenticated user.

** The page says this service is no longer available, so I wonder if there is a way to do the same in the present.

So, the question is: Is there a way to get/download the list of MAP_IDs of all my maps, preferrably using Python?

Thanks for reading

Answer 1

The correct answer to this question involves using Google Maps Data API, HTML interface, which by the way is deprecated but still solves my need in a more official way, or at least more convincing than parsing a web page. Here it goes:

# coding: utf-8

import urllib2, urllib, re, getpass

username = 'heltonbiker'
senha = getpass.getpass('Senha do usuário ' + username + ':')

dic = {
        'accountType':      'GOOGLE',
        'Email':            (username + '@gmail.com'),
        'Passwd':           senha,
        'service':          'local',
        'source':           'helton-mapper-1'
        }
url = 'https://www.google.com/accounts/ClientLogin?' + urllib.urlencode(dic)
output = urllib2.urlopen(url).read()
authid = output.strip().split('\n')[-1].split('=')[-1]

request = urllib2.Request('http://maps.google.com/maps/feeds/maps/default/full')
request.add_header('Authorization', 'GoogleLogin auth=%s' % authid)
source = urllib2.urlopen(request).read()

for link in re.findall('<link rel=.alternate. type=.text/html. href=((.)[^\1]*?)>', source):
    s = link[0]
    if 'msa=0' in s:
        print s

I arrived with this solution with a bunch of other questions in SO, and a lot of people helped me a lot, so I hope this code might help anyone else trying to do so in the future.

Answer 2

A quick and dirty way I have found, that skips Google Maps API completely and perhaps might brake in the near future, is this:

# coding: utf-8

import urllib, re
from BeautifulSoup import BeautifulSoup as bs

uid = '200931058040775970557'
start = 0
shown = 1

while True:
    url = 'http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid='+uid+'&ptab=2&start='+str(start)
    source = urllib.urlopen(url).read()
    soup = bs(source)
    maptables = soup.findAll(id=re.compile('^map[0-9]+$'))
    for table in maptables:
        for line in table.findAll('a', 'maptitle'):
            mapid = re.search(uid+'\.([^"]*)', str(line)).group(1)
            mapname = re.search('>(.*)</a>', str(line)).group(1).strip()[:-2]
            print shown, mapid, mapname
            shown += 1

            # uncomment if you want to download the KML files:
            # urllib.urlretrieve('http://maps.google.com.br/maps/ms?msid=' + uid + '.' + str(mapid) +
                               '&msa=0&output=kml', mapname + '.kml')                

    if '<span>Next</span>' in str(source):
        start += 5
    else:
        break

Of course it is only printing a numbered list, but from there to save a dictionary and/or automate KML download via &output=kml url trick it goes naturally.