Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook

Chapter 8. Querying and Selecting Data

In this chapter, we will cover the following recipes:

• Constructing proper attribute query syntax
• Creating feature layers and table views
• Selecting features and rows with the Select Layer by Attribute tool
• Selecting features with the Select by Location tool
• Combining spatial and attribute queries with the Select by Location tool

Introduction

Selecting features from a geographic layer or rows from a standalone attribute table is one of the most common GIS operations. Queries are created to enable these selections, and can be either attribute or spatial queries. Attribute queries use SQL statements to select features or rows through the use of one or more fields or columns in a dataset. An example attribute query ...