Using variables to store data
In Chapter 1, Fundamentals of the Python Language for ArcGIS, we covered the topic of variables, so you should have a basic understanding of these structures. Variables are given a name and assigned a data value in your scripts. These named variables occupy space in your computer's memory and the data contained within these structures can change while a script is running. After the script has finished the memory space occupied by these variables is then released and can be used for other operations.
Getting ready
When writing geoprocessing scripts with Python there will be many times when you will need to create variables to hold data of one type or another. This data can then be used in your script as input parameters for tools and functions, as intermediate data for internal processing, to hold paths to datasets, and for other reasons. In addition, many of the ArcPy functions and tools also return data that can be stored in a variable for further use in your...
