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General Question about REST API Education

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12-03-2019 10:52 AM
by Anonymous User
Not applicable
‎12-03-2019 10:52 AM

This is a strange and very broad question, but I'm going to give it a shot.

I have been  working with ArcGIS API for Python and have had decent results, but the hunting and pecking for scraps of useful information that I have done seems incredibly inefficient. 

There is of course the API Reference, which is helpful but full of information that I don't understand, and clearly structured for a specialist. Maybe it's not meant for people like me (Not developers, just trying to do enough coding to streamline the workflow):

arcgis.gis module — arcgis 1.7.0 documentation 

For example, what does "Bases" mean, and what would I do with this information? 

I needed to list data sources, and found this method - service._service_manifest(). I just Googled it and finally found it on StackExchange or something. It is not in the API reference. Without Google, I would not have found it. 

So, my question. Is there one place (that is, ahem, not a $$$ training seminar) that provides a comprehensive explanation of this  API and it's components so that Googling wasn't so frequently necessary to get specific information?

Kind of a Hail Mary, I know, but it just seems like there is a better way to systematically acquire information about this system than Googling and copying snippets from the samples. Is it explained A-Z anywhere? I've looked and haven't found a "ArcGIS API Full Explanation for the Non-Specialist" type of document I was hoping for.I would happily purchase a book if there were one (There doesn't seem to be.)

Thank you,

Randy McGregor

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1 Reply
by Anonymous User
Not applicable
‎12-04-2019 08:48 AM

Randy, one thing that I think you really need to do if you want to understand this system is familiarize yourself with the ArcGIS REST API. It is the foundational API, and the ArcGIS API for Python appears to be a system designed to simplify interaction with the ArcGIS REST API.

Good overview of what ArcGIS API for Python actually does here:

ArcGIS API for Python Core Concepts Part 1: Python, APIs, and REST 

ArcGIS REST API Documentation:

The ArcGIS REST API | ArcGIS for Developers 

Still, there are gaps that would be nice to fill - A book describing this relationship would be extremely helpful (hint hint).

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