Data types

GIS uses points, lines, polygons, coverages, and rasters to store data. Each of these GIS data types can be used in different ways when performing analyses, and have different attributes and traits. Python, like GIS, has data types that it uses to organize data. The main data types used in this book are strings, integers, floats, lists, tuples, and dictionaries. They each have their own attributes and traits, and are used for specific parts of code automation. There are also built-in functions that allow for data types to be converted from one type to another; for instance, the integer 1 can be converted to the string '1' using the function str():

>>> variable = 1
>>> strvar = str(variable)
>>> strvar
'1'