Apps Script example for handling custom forms

Code.gs

var sheetID = "xxx-id-goes-here-xxx";

var rowConfig = "timestamp name location favorite note lifespan season contact lat lng zone approve feature".split(" ");

/***
Requests may come in with the following parameters:

name
favorite - player name (number?)
note
location - geocodable location

Resulting in the following derived fields
lat - (will be rounded to nearest .01 degrees)
lng - see lat
zone - state or country for heatmapping
approve - flags them for inclusion on the map
feature - flags them for star status

Approval is contingent on a flag to give us some editorial leeway. Truly offensive stuff can just be deleted.
*/

//maps a parameter hash to a row in the spreadsheet according to column names
var rowMapper = function(data) {
  var row = [];
  for (var key in data) {
    var index = rowConfig.indexOf(key);
    if (index > -1) {
      var value;
      if (key in data) {
        value = data[key];
      } else {
        value = "";
      }
      row[index] = data[key];
    }
  }
  for (var i = 0; i < row.length; i++) {
    if (typeof row[i] == "undefined") {
      row[i] = "";
    }
  }
  return row;
}

//called on web request
function doGet(e) {
  if (!e && !e.parameter) return;
  //lock the sheet
  var lock = LockService.getPublicLock();
  lock.tryLock(30 * 1000);
  
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.openById(sheetID).getActiveSheet();
  var params = process(e.parameter);
  var row = rowMapper(params);
  sheet.appendRow(row);
  
  lock.releaseLock();
  
  //return JSONP if given callback, otherwise plain JSON
  var output = ContentService.createTextOutput();
  var rowContents = JSON.stringify(row);
  if (params.callback) {
    output.setContent(params.callback + "(" + rowContents + ")");
    output.setMimeType(ContentService.MimeType.JAVASCRIPT);
  } else {
    output.setContent(rowContents);
    output.setMimeType(ContentService.MimeType.JSON);
  }
  return output;
}

function buildAddress(result) {
  var address = {};
  result.address_components.forEach(function(c) {
    var key = c.types[0];
    var val = c.long_name;
    address[key] = val;
  });
  return address;
}

function process(params) {
  params.timestamp = Date.now();
  //prefer GPS to geocoding
  var geocoder = Maps.newGeocoder();
  var rateLimited = false;
  if (params.gps) {
    var latlng = params.gps.split(",");
    params.lat = latlng[0];
    params.lng = latlng[1];
    try {
      var reverse = geocoder.reverseGeocode(params.lat, params.lng).results.shift();
      var address = buildAddress(reverse);
      if (address.country == "United States") {
        params.zone = address.administrative_area_level_1;
      } else {
        params.zone = address.country;
      }
    } catch(e) {
      Logger.log("Geocoding error: " + JSON.stringify(e));
    }
  } else if (params.location) {
    try {
      var geocoded = geocoder.geocode(params.location);
      var result = geocoded.results.shift()
      var loc = result.geometry.location;
      params.lat = loc.lat;
      params.lng = loc.lng;
      var address = buildAddress(result);
      if (address.country == "United States") {
        params.zone = address.administrative_area_level_1;
      } else {
        params.zone = address.country;
      }
    } catch (e) {
      Logger.log("Geocoding error: " + JSON.stringify(e));
    }
  }
  return params;
}

function doPost(e) {
  return doGet(e);
}

//test function, so you don't have to deploy each time
function test() {
  doGet({
    parameter: {
      name: "Thomas",
      gps: "47,-122",
      location: "beijing, china",
      note: "hello, world",
      favorite: 3
    }
  });
}

//fill function to add random people to the sheet, so that we can test lots of points
function fill() {
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.openById(sheetID).getActiveSheet();
  var count = 1000;
  var firstNames = ["Alice", "Bob", "Charles", "Dawn", "Erin", "Fred", "Gwen", "Harry"];
  var lastNames = ["I.", "J.", "K.", "L.", "M.", "N."];
  var getRandom = function(arr) { return arr[Math.floor(Math.random() * arr.length)] };
  for (var i = 0; i < count; i++) {
    var position = Math.PI + (Math.PI / 4) - (Math.random() * Math.PI * .75);
    var distance = 5 * Math.random() + 7;
    var params = {
      timestamp: Date.now(),
      name: getRandom(firstNames) + " " + getRandom(lastNames),
      location: "Nowhere, USA",
      lifespan: 4,
      season: Math.random() > .5 ? true : "",
      lat: 43.1 - (distance * Math.sin(position)),
      lng: -111 + (distance * Math.cos(position)),
      favorite: Math.round(Math.random() * 90),
      note: Utilities.base64Encode(Utilities.computeDigest(
          Utilities.DigestAlgorithm.MD5,
          Math.round(Math.random() * 100000000) + "",
          Utilities.Charset.US_ASCII
      ))
    };
    params.gps = params.lat + "," + params.lng;
    process(params);
    var row = rowMapper(params);
    sheet.appendRow(row);
  }
}