Understanding analysis in the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension

The easiest way to understand cell-based modeling is from the perspective of an individual cell (the worm's-eye approach) as opposed to the entire raster (the bird's-eye approach). To do so, think of yourself as a cell in a raster dataset. You represent a location, and you have a value. All ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension tools will ask you to manipulate or retain your value based on a defined series of rules.

Calculating an output value for each cell

To calculate an output value for your specified location (cell) using any Spatial Analyst tool, there are three things you need to know:

How do you determine these three things?

The three-step process considering several tools

The above logic occurs for each cell in the input raster.

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11/5/2012