ArcGIS Help 10.2 - FeatureSet (arcpy)

Summary

FeatureSet objects are a lightweight representation of a feature class. They are a special data element that contains not only schema, but also the data. The FeatureSet object is also how feature data is sent and received from the server.

Discussion

Note:

If loading a feature class into a new FeatureSet and modifying the FeatureSet with a geoprocessing tool that modifies the input like Calculate Field or an arcpy function like UpdateCursor, the original feature class will also be modified.

Syntax

FeatureSet ({table})

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
table	Feature data to be loaded into the FeatureSet object.	String

Properties

Property	Explanation	Data Type
JSON (Read Only)	Returns a JSON representation of the geometry as a string. Tip: The returned string can be converted to a dictionary using Python's json.loads function.	String

Method Overview

Method	Explanation
load (table_path)	Import from a table.
save (table_path)	Export to a table.

Methods

load (table_path)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
table_path	The table to be imported.	String

save (table_path)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
table_path	The output table to be created.	String

Code Sample

FeatureSet example

Load data into a FeatureSet and insert into feature class.

import arcpy

arcpy.env.overwriteOutput = True

arcpy.ImportToolbox("http://flame7/arcgis/services;BufferByVal",
                    "servertools")

# List of coordinates
coordinates = [[-117.196717216, 34.046944853],
               [-117.186226483, 34.046498438],
               [-117.179530271, 34.038016569],
               [-117.187454122, 34.039132605],
               [-117.177744614, 34.056765964],
               [-117.156205131, 34.064466609],
               [-117.145491191, 34.068261129],
               [-117.170825195, 34.073618099],
               [-117.186784501, 34.068149525],
               [-117.158325598, 34.03489167]]

# Create an in_memory feature class to initially contain the coordinate pairs
feature_class = arcpy.CreateFeatureclass_management(
    "in_memory", "tempfc", "POINT")[0]

# Open an insert cursor
with arcpy.da.InsertCursor(feature_class, ["SHAPE@XY"]) as cursor:
    # Iterate through list of coordinates and add to cursor
    for (x, y) in coordinates:
        cursor.insertRow([(x, y)])

# Create a FeatureSet object and load in_memory feature class
feature_set = arcpy.FeatureSet()
feature_set.load(feature_class)

results = arcpy.BufferPoints_servertools(feature_set)

FeatureSet (arcpy)