Now that the basics of creating and executing ArcPy scripts have been covered, we need to take the next step and create re-useable Script tools. Creating Script tools will allow for greater code reuse, and will make it easy to create custom tools for other GIS analysts and customers. With a Python script backend or code, and a familiar ArcGIS tool frontend or user interface, the particulars of the code are hidden from the user; it becomes just another tool, albeit a tool that can save days and weeks of work.
This chapter will cover the following topics:
Adding parameters to scripts to accept input and produce output as required by the user
Creating a custom tool frontend and a custom toolbox
Setting the parameters of the tool frontend to allow it to pass arguments to the code backend