Working with geoprocessing tools
Geoprocessing refers to any GIS operation in which new data is derived from
existing data. When you manage and analyze your GIS data, you will typically
"geoprocess" it at some point.
When used
to manage GIS data, a geoprocess may be as simple as
copying a feature class from one geodatabase to
another, or from a CD to a folder on your local disk. Because these tasks
result in the creation of new data, they are considered geoprocessing
operations.
When used for analysis, a geoprocess usually involves combining two or more datasets to produce a new dataset that includes some or all of the features and attributes from the inputs. We will concentrate on working with the ArcGIS geoprocessing tools used for analysis.