Monday, May 7, 2012

ArcPy - List Columns for Table

In my previous post, I showed you how to use pure SQL in oracle to list the fields of a table.  This can be done using ArcPy as well.
ArcPy has a function called: ListFields (dataset, {wild_card}, {field_type}) where all you are required to pass is the dataset. The wild card and field type are limiters that can help slim down the results.
sdeFile = r"c:\temp\connectionFile.sde" 
fc = sdeFile + os.sep + "myFeatClass" 
fields = arcpy.ListFields(fc) 
for field in fields:
   print field.name

The code returns a field object from which you can access a whole set of properties. This method is preferred when examining spatial data because it provides the data in a format that the Arc system can read and understand.
Enjoy