GEOG 485:
GIS Programming and Software Development

Lesson 1 Checklist

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This lesson is two weeks in length. (See the Calendar in Canvas for specific due dates.) To finish this lesson, you must complete the actvities listed below. You may find it useful to print this page so that you can follow along with the directions. 

  1. Download the Lesson 1 data and extract it to C:\PSU\Geog485\Lesson1 or a similar path that is easy to remember.
  2. Work through the online sections of Lesson 1.
  3. Read the assigned pages from the Zandbergen textbook. In the online lesson pages, I have inserted instructions on the sections to read from Zandbergen when it is most appropriate to read them.
  4. Complete Project 1, Part I and submit the deliverables to the course drop box.
  5. Complete Project 1, Part II and submit the deliverables to the course drop box.
  6. Complete the Lesson 1 Quiz.

Do items 1 - 3 (including any of the practice exercises you want to attempt) during the first week of the lesson. You will need the second week to concentrate on the project and quiz.

Lesson objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should:

  • be able to create automated workflows in ArcGIS Pro ModelBuilder;
  • be familiar with the PyScripter development environment;
  • know some of Python’s most important basic data types and how to use variables in Python scripts;
  • be familiar with the basic concepts of object oriented programming (e.g. classes & inheritance);
  • be able to use arcpy tool functions to achieve basic spatial analysis tasks; and
  • know how to create a simple script tool and pass a parameter to a script.