The ArcPy module is both a wrapper module used to interact with the ArcGIS tools, which are then executed by ArcGIS in its internal code format, and a code base that allows for additional control of geospatial analyses and map production. This governing philosophy was organized into a poem by Tim Peters, an early Python developer called the Zen of Python it is an Easter egg (a hidden feature) included in every Python installation and is shown when import this is typed in the Python interpreter: The Zen of Python was created to be straightforward, readable, and simplified, compared to other languages that existed previously. Either way, the end result is that a computer and its programs are available to be manipulated and controlled using Python. Not all modules are wrappers some modules are written in pure Python and perform their analysis and computations using the Python syntax. For example, wrappers make it possible to extract data from an Excel spreadsheet and transform or load the data into another program, such as ArcGIS. They allow us to use Python to interface with other programs written in C or other programming languages, using the Application Programming Interface ( API) of those programs. Wrapper modules are common in Python, and are so named because they wrap Python onto the tools we will need.
It is not always the best choice for the development of these tools, but that has not stopped programmers from trying and even succeeding. The built-in modules and add-on modules make Python very powerful, and it can be (and has been) used for nearly any part of a computer-operating systems, databases, web servers, desktop applications, and so on. The answer is yes Python can be used to create complete programs, build websites, run computer networks, and much more. Many new programmers wonder if Python is a real programming language, which is a loaded question. Other modules have been developed by third parties and can be downloaded and installed onto the Python installation as needed. Some of the tool libraries, known to Python programmers as modules, are built-in and available as soon as Python is started, while others must be explicitly called using the import keyword to make their functions and classes available. These tools allow Python to perform string manipulations, math computations, and HTTP calls and URL parsing, along with many other functions. Python, when installed, has a basic set of functionality that is referred to as the standard library.
This book will target ArcGIS for Desktop 10.1 and later, and will demonstrate how to make use of Python and its powerful programming libraries (or modules) when crafting complex geospatial analyses. ArcPy has been the official ArcGIS scripting language since ArcGIS 10.0 and has steadily improved in functionality and implementation. Most importantly to GIS Analysts, Python can be used to control ArcGIS tools and Map Documents to produce geospatial data and maps in an organized and speedy manner using the excellent ArcPy module.ĪrcPy is installed with ArcGIS for desktop and ArcGIS for server. It is used in web development, database administration, and even to program robots. Today, Python is a major programming language. It's certainly more fun to say than C, the language on which Python is based. So he settled on Python, feeling it was a bit edgy and catchy as well.
His work group at the time had a tradition of naming programs after TV shows, and he wanted something irreverent and different from its predecessors - ABC, Pascal, Ada, Eiffel, FORTRAN, and others. Python, created by Guido van Rossum in 1989, was named after his favorite comedy troupe, Monty Python.