Geocoding with a locator service in the ArcGIS API for JavaScript

An ArcGIS Server locator service can perform both geocoding and reverse geocoding operations. Using the ArcGIS API for JavaScript, you submit an address to the Locator task and have it return the geographic coordinates for any matched locations.

The following figure illustrates this process. An address, defined by a JSON object in JavaScript, is input as a parameter to the Locator task object. The Locator task geocodes the address and returns the results in an AddressCandidate object which can then be displayed as a point on your map. This pattern is the same as the other tasks we've seen in previous chapters where an input object (Address object) provides input parameters to the task (Locator) which submits the job to ArcGIS Server. A result object (AddressCandidate) is then returned to a callback function for processing:

Input parameter object

The input parameter object for the Locator task is either a JSON address object for...