ArcPy and ArcGIS: Geospatial Analysis with Python

Use the ArcPy module to automate the analysis and mapping of geospatial data in ArcGIS

About This Book

• Perform GIS analysis faster by automating tasks, such as selecting data or buffering data, by accessing GIS tools using scripting
• Access the spatial data contained within shapefiles and geodatabases, for updates, analysis and even transformation between spatial reference systems
• Produce map books and automate the mapping of geospatial analyses, reducing the time needed to produce and display the results

Who This Book Is For

If you are a GIS student or professional who needs an understanding of how to use ArcPy to reduce repetitive tasks and perform analysis faster, this book is for you. It is also a valuable book for Python programmers who want to understand how to automate geospatial analyses.

In Detail

ArcGIS allows for complex analyses of geographic information. The ArcPy module is used to script these ArcGIS analyses, providing a productive way to perform geo-analyses and to automate map production.

This book will guide you from basic Python scripting to advanced ArcPy script tools. This book starts off with setting up your Python environment, demonstrates a complex ArcPy script tool with multiple iterations, illustrates data access module cursors, and explains how to use ArcPy Geometry classes. Then, you will learn how to output maps using ArcPy.Mapping, and how to create ArcGIS script tools.

With the help of this book, you will be able to create repeatable analyses reducing the time-consuming nature of GIS, making you into a GIS professional as powerful as a whole team.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction to Python for ArcGIS
Chapter 2. Configuring the Python Environment
Chapter 3. Creating the First Python Script
Chapter 4. Complex ArcPy Scripts and Generalizing Functions
Chapter 5. ArcPy Cursors – Search, Insert, and Update
Chapter 6. Working with ArcPy Geometry Objects
Chapter 7. Creating a Script Tool
Chapter 8. Introduction to ArcPy.Mapping
Chapter 9. More ArcPy.Mapping Techniques
Chapter 10. Advanced Geometry Object Methods
Chapter 11. Network Analyst and Spatial Analyst with ArcPy
Chapter 12. The End of the Beginning