How to copy lines with identical attribute values based on length?

ChristopherBevilacqua

I'm using ArcGIS 10.1, Advanced license.  I'm working with file geodatabase feature classes.  

I have a line feature class called sticksRF_2split.  Each record in this feature class has a unique value in a field called PROPNUM_GIS.  I run this feature class through the arcpy.SplitLineAtPoint_management tool.  The output, sticksRF_split, has two records with the same PROPNUM_GIS value.  From these pairs of matching PROPNUM_GIS values, I want to create a feature class that contains only the lines with the greater value in the SHAPE_Length field.  

I'm thinking the necessary approach would involve a dictionary with PROPNUM_GIS as the key and SHAPE_Length as the values, and then compare the values.  I'm having a challenge finding any documentation about how to accomplish this.  Is this the best way to approach this problem?  Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

RichardFairhurst

The dictionary's value for each key is supposed to be a list with two items: length, shape.  The second item is the shape.  So the failure may be happening on a specific record of the dictionary.  Set a counter and print it in the for loop to determine if the failure is happening for the first record or if it is happening on a specific record of the dictionary.  If it is happening on the first record then publish the print you get of the dictionary.  If it happens on a specific record, isolate which record fails and print its contents.  This is standard debugging and you should assume nothing.  The Split line at point is capable of producing features with Null geometry and this could cause a failure of the logic I used to populate the dictionary if that created an exceptional case I did not account for.