🍽️ Bite-size — Restaurant Finder CLI App

Bite-size is a Java command-line application that helps users discover nearby restaurants based on a U.S. ZIP code. It integrates the Google Geocoding API to retrieve real-time location data, and supports sorting results by distance, rating, or price level.

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🚀 Features

• 🔎 Search by U.S. ZIP code
• 📍 Get latitude and longitude using Google Geocoding API
• ⚖️ Sort results by:
  • Distance (nearest first)
  • Rating (highest first)
  • Price level (cheapest first)
• 📞 View restaurant details: address, phone number, rating, and price level
• Robust input validation and graceful error handling

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🧰 Technologies Used

• Java 21
• Google Maps Java Client Library
  • Geocoding API
• Priority Queues from Sedgewick & Wayne’s Algorithms
  • MinPQ.java and MaxPQ.java (Binary Heaps)

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📦 Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/bitesizeapp.git
cd bitesizeapp

2. Add your Google Maps API Key

Set your API key as an environment variable before running the app:

export GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_actual_api_key_here

3. Compile the project

Make sure you have Java 21 and Maven or your preferred build system configured.

javac -cp path/to/google-maps-services.jar:. com/github/tel05/bitesizeapp/*.java

4. Run the app

java -cp path/to/google-maps-services.jar:. com.github.tel05.bitesizeapp.Main

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🏗️ Project Structure

📦 bitesizeapp/
 ┣ 📄 Main.java              // CLI logic + user flow
 ┣ 📄 Geocoding.java         // Gets coordinates from ZIP code
 ┣ 📄 NearbyRestaurants.java // (planned) integration with Places API
 ┣ 📄 Restaurant.java        // Stores restaurant attributes (name, address, rating, etc.)
 ┣ 📄 RestaurantData.java    // Mock data (optional, for testing)
 ┣ 📄 ZipCodeValidator.java  // Validates ZIP code format
 ┣ 📄 MinPQ.java             // Min-priority queue (distance, price)
 ┣ 📄 MaxPQ.java             // Max-priority queue (rating)

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🧪 Sample Flow

---------------------- Bite-size -------------------------
 The quick and easy way to discover restaurants near you
----------------------------------------------------------
Enter your zip code: 60647
Latitude: 41.9243, Longitude: -87.7012

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📌 Notes

• This app currently runs as a CLI but is designed to be portable to a GUI or mobile interface.
• API responses are rate-limited by Google. Be sure to handle your quota accordingly.

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📈 Future Enhancements

• 🍽️ Integrate Google Places API for dynamic restaurant discovery (in progress 🚧)
• 🧾 Filter by cuisine/ Include open hours
• 🛑 Caching API results to reduce repeated requests
• 📱 Convert to an Android app using Kotlin + Maps SDK

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🤝 Acknowledgements

• Google Maps Java Client
• Sedgewick & Wayne’s Algorithms

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👩‍💻 Author

Tania Lopez
Aspiring Software Engineer | CS Grad Student