A quick tour of creating tools with Python

Geoprocessing system tools (those installed with ArcGIS) are designed to perform one small but essential operation on geographic data. Using ModelBuilder or Python, you execute these geoprocessing tools in a sequence, feeding the output of one tool to the input of another. The script you create may be an essential part of your workflow—a task you need to repeat again and again.

Scripts that you create can be executed with one of two basic methods: outside ArcGIS and within ArcGIS.

Geoprocessing tools can be created from Python in two ways: standard toolboxes, (Toolbox) where you connect a Python script tool to a toolbox using a wizard, and Python toolboxes (Python Toolbox), which are an ASCII file written entirely with Python code. To learn more about the differences between custom and Python toolboxes, see Comparing custom and Python toolboxes.

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3/25/2013