On this blog, I intend to document some common GIS operation via the Python Scripting API for both ArcGIS (ArcPy) and QGIS (PyQGIS).
Lets begin....
1) The documentation
The ArcGIS (ArcPy) is available at: http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/documentation/
Note that there are two versions of the ArcGIS desktop software: ArcMap (Including ArcCatalog, ArcScene, & ArcGlobe) and ArcGIS Pro. The focus of this blog is on: ArcMap.
The QGIS (PyQGIS) is available at: QGIS Python API documentation project
You can compliment this docs with good books written by different authors:-
ArcPy related Books:
~ ArcPy and ArcGIS – Geospatial Analysis with Python by Silas Toms
~ Python Scripting for ArcGIS by Paul A. Zandbergen
~ Python For ArcGIS by Laura Tateosian
~ Python Scripting for ArcGIS by Paul A. Zandbergen
PyQGIS related Books:
~ PyQGIS developer cookbook by QGIS Project Team
~ The PyQGIS Programmer's Guide: Extending QGIS 3 with Python 3 by Gary Sherman
~ The Pyqgis Programmer's Guide by Gary Sherman
~ Mastering Geospatial Development with QGIS 3.x: An in-depth guide to becoming proficient in spatial data analysis using QGIS 3.4 and 3.6 with Python by Shammunul Islam, Simon Miles, et al.
~ QGIS Python Programming Cookbook by Joel Lawhead
~ Building Mapping Applications with QGIS by by Erik Westra
2) Launch and customize python window/console
In ArcGIS it is located under 'Geoprocessing' menu while in QGIS, it is under the 'Plugin' menu. Access the respective menus and launch the python window/console. you could also launch the window/console from the related icon on the tools bar.
To customize the ArcGIS python window, right click on the environment and select what you want to customize.
To customize the QGIS python console, click on the 'options' button as seen below. Then select the settings you want to customize accordingly.
3) The built-in documentation
Lets try to see the list of valid methods and attributes for the APIs. The primary object in the ArcGIS API is 'arcpy' so lets call the dir() method on it like this: dir(arcpy)>>> dir(arcpy)
['ASCII3DToFeatureClass_3d', 'ASCIIToRaster_conversion', 'AcceptConnections', 'AddAttachments_management', 'AddCADFields_conversion', 'AddCodedValueToDomain_management', 'AddColormap_management', 'AddDataStoreItem', 'AddEdgeEdgeConnectivityRuleToGeometricNetwork_management', 'AddEdgeJunctionConnectivityRuleToGeometricNetwork_management', 'AddError', 'AddFeatureClassToTerrain_3d', 'AddFeatureClassToTopology_management', 'AddFieldConflictFilter_management', 'AddFieldDelimiters', 'AddFieldToAnalysisLayer_na', 'AddField_management', 'AddFilesToLasDataset_management', 'AddGeometryAttributes_management', 'AddGlobalIDs_management', 'AddIDMessage', 'AddIncrementingIDField_management', 'AddIndex_management', 'AddItem_arc', 'AddJoin_management', 'AddLocations_na', 'AddMessage', 'AddRasterToGeoPackage_conversion', 'AddRastersToMosaicDataset_management', 'AddRepresentation_cartography', 'AddReturnMessage', 'AddRuleToTopology_management', 'AddSpatialIndex_management', 'AddSubtype_management', 'AddSurfaceInformation_3d', 'AddTerrainPyramidLevel_3d', 'AddToolbox', 'AddWarning', 'AddXY_arc', 'AddXY_management', 'AddZInformation_3d', 'Adjust3DZ_management', 'AggregatePoints_cartography', 'AggregatePolygons_arc', 'AggregatePolygons_cartography', 'AlignFeatures_edit', 'AlignMarkerToStrokeOrFill_cartography', 'AlterAliasName', 'AlterField_management', 'AlterMosaicDatasetSchema_management', 'AlterVersion_management', 'AnalyzeControlPoints_management', 'AnalyzeDatasets_management', 'AnalyzeMosaicDataset_management', 'AnalyzeToolsForPro_management', 'Analyze_management', 'Annotation', 'AppendAnnotation_management', 'AppendControlPoints_management', 'AppendParcelFabric_fabric', 'AppendTerrainPoints_3d', 'Append_arc', 'Append_management', 'ApplyBlockAdjustment_management', 'ApplySymbologyFromLayer_management', 'ArcDLG_arc', 'ArcRoute_arc', 'ArcS57_arc', 'ArcSDESQLExecute', 'ArealInterpolationLayerToPolygons_ga', 'Array', 'AsShape', 'Aspect_3d', 'AssignDefaultToField_management', 'AssignDomainToField_management', 'AverageNearestNeighbor_stats', 'BatchBuildPyramids_management', 'BatchCalculateStatistics_management', 'BatchProject_management', 'BearingDistanceToLine_management', 'Buffer3D_3d', 'Buffer_analysis', 'Buffer_arc', 'BuildBoundary_management', 'BuildFootprints_management', 'BuildMosaicDatasetItemCache_management', 'BuildNetwork_na', 'BuildOverviews_management', 'BuildPyramids_management', 'BuildPyramidsandStatistics_management', 'BuildRasterAttributeTable_management', 'BuildSeamlines_management', 'BuildStereoModel_management', 'BuildTerrain_3d', 'Build_arc', 'CADToGeodatabase_conversion', 'CalculateAdjacentFields_cartography', 'CalculateAreas_stats', 'CalculateCellSizeRanges_management', 'CalculateCentralMeridianAndParallels_cartography', 'CalculateDefaultClusterTolerance_management', 'CalculateDefaultGridIndex_management', 'CalculateDistanceBand_stats', 'CalculateEndTime_management', 'CalculateField_management', 'CalculateGridConvergenceAngle_cartography', 'CalculateLineCaps_cartography', 'CalculateLocations_na', 'CalculatePolygonMainAngle_cartography', 'CalculateRepresentationRule_cartography', 'CalculateStatistics_management', 'CalculateTransformationErrors_edit', 'CalculateUTMZone_cartography', 'CalculateValue_management', 'CalibrateRoutes_lr', 'CentralFeature_stats', 'ChangeLasClassCodes_3d', 'ChangePrivileges_management', 'ChangeTerrainReferenceScale_3d', 'ChangeTerrainResolutionBounds_3d', 'ChangeVersion_management', 'CheckExtension', 'CheckGeometry_management', 'CheckInExtension', 'CheckOutExtension', 'CheckProduct', 'ClassifyLasBuilding_3d', 'ClassifyLasByHeight_3d', 'ClassifyLasGround_3d', 'Clean_arc', 'ClearEnvironment', 'ClearWorkspaceCache_management', 'Clip_analysis', 'Clip_arc', 'Clip_management', 'ClustersOutliersRendered_stats', 'ClustersOutliers_stats', 'CollapseDualLinesToCenterline_arc', 'CollapseDualLinesToCenterline_cartography', 'CollapseRoadDetail_cartography', 'CollectEventsRendered_stats', 'CollectEvents_stats', 'ColorBalanceMosaicDataset_management', 'Command', 'Compact_management', 'CompareReplicaSchema_management', 'CompositeBands_management', 'CompressFileGeodatabaseData_management', 'Compress_management', 'ComputeBlockAdjustment_management', 'ComputeCameraModel_management', 'ComputeControlPoints_management', 'ComputeDirtyArea_management', 'ComputeMosaicCandidates_management', 'ComputePansharpenWeights_management', 'ComputeTiePoints_management', 'ConcatenateDateAndTimeFields_ta', 'ConfigureGeodatabaseLogFileTables_management', 'ConsolidateLayer_management', 'ConsolidateLocator_geocoding', 'ConsolidateLocator_management', 'ConsolidateMap_management', 'ConsolidateResult_management', 'ConstructSightLines_3d', 'ContourAnnotation_cartography', 'ContourList_3d', 'ContourWithBarriers_3d', 'Contour_3d', 'ConvertCoordinateNotation_management', 'ConvertDiagram_schematics', 'ConvertMapServerCacheStorageFormat_server', 'ConvertSpatialWeightsMatrixtoTable_stats', 'ConvertTimeField_management', 'ConvertTimeZone_management', 'CopyFeatures_management', 'CopyParameter', 'CopyParcelFabric_fabric', 'CopyRasterCatalogItems_management', 'CopyRaster_management', 'CopyRows_management', 'CopyRuntimeGdbToFileGdb_conversion', 'CopyTin_3d', 'CopyTraversedSourceFeatures_na', 'Copy_management', 'CountRenderer_stats', 'CreateAddressLocator_geocoding', 'CreateArcInfoWorkspace_management', 'CreateArcSDEConnectionFile_management', 'CreateCartographicPartitions_cartography', 'CreateCompositeAddressLocator_geocoding', 'CreateCustomGeoTransformation_management', 'CreateDatabaseConnection_management', 'CreateDatabaseUser_management', 'CreateDatabaseView_management', 'CreateDiagram_schematics', 'CreateDomain_management', 'CreateEnterpriseGeodatabase_management', 'CreateFeatureDataset_management', 'CreateFeatureclass_management', 'CreateFileGDB_management', 'CreateFishnet_management', 'CreateFolder_management', 'CreateGPSDDraft', 'CreateGeocodeSDDraft', 'CreateGeometricNetwork_management', 'CreateImageSDDraft', 'CreateLabels_arc', 'CreateLasDataset_management', 'CreateMapServerCache_server', 'CreateMapTilePackage_management', 'CreateMosaicDataset_management', 'CreateObject', 'CreateOrthoCorrectedRasterDataset_management', 'CreateOverpass_cartography', 'CreatePansharpenedRasterDataset_management', 'CreatePersonalGDB_management', 'CreateRandomPoints_management', 'CreateRandomRaster_management', 'CreateRandomValueGenerator', 'CreateRasterCatalog_management', 'CreateRasterDataset_management', 'CreateRasterType_management', 'CreateReferencedMosaicDataset_management', 'CreateRelationshipClass_management', 'CreateReplicaFootPrints_management', 'CreateReplicaFromServer_management', 'CreateReplica_management', 'CreateRole_management', 'CreateRoutes_lr', 'CreateRuntimeContent_management', 'CreateSQLiteDatabase_management', 'CreateSchematicFolder_schematics', 'CreateScratchName', 'CreateSpaceTimeCube_stpm', 'CreateSpatialReference_management', 'CreateSpatialType_management', 'CreateSpatiallyBalancedPoints_ga', 'CreateTable_management', 'CreateTerrain_3d', 'CreateThiessenPolygons_analysis', 'CreateTin_3d', 'CreateTopology_management', 'CreateTurnFeatureClass_na', 'CreateUnRegisteredFeatureclass_management', 'CreateUnRegisteredTable_management', 'CreateUnderpass_cartography', 'CreateUniqueName', 'CreateVersion_management', 'CreateVersionedView_management', 'Create_arc', 'CrossValidationResult', 'CrossValidation_ga', 'CulDeSacMasks_cartography', 'Cursor', 'Curvature_3d', 'CutFill_3d', 'DEMToRaster_conversion', 'DLGArc_arc', 'DecimateTinNodes_3d', 'DecryptPYT', 'DefineMosaicDatasetNoData_management', 'DefineOverviews_management', 'DefineProjection_arc', 'DefineProjection_management', 'DeleteCodedValueFromDomain_management', 'DeleteColormap_management', 'DeleteDomain_management', 'DeleteFeatures_management', 'DeleteField_management', 'DeleteGlobeServerCache_server', 'DeleteGridsAndGraticules_cartography', 'DeleteIdentical_management', 'DeleteMapServerCache_server', 'DeleteMosaicDataset_management', 'DeleteRasterAttributeTable_management', 'DeleteRasterCatalogItems_management', 'DeleteRows_management', 'DeleteSchemaGeodatabase_management', 'DeleteTerrainPoints_3d', 'DeleteVersion_management', 'Delete_management', 'DelineateBuiltUpAreas_cartography', 'DelineateTinDataArea_3d', 'DensifySamplingNetwork_ga', 'Densify_edit', 'Describe', 'DetectFeatureChanges_management', 'DetectGraphicConflict_cartography', 'DiagnoseVersionMetadata_management', 'DiagnoseVersionTables_management', 'Dice_management', 'Difference3D_3d', 'DiffusionInterpolationWithBarriers_ga', 'Dimension', 'DirectionalDistribution_stats', 'DirectionalMean_stats', 'Directions_na', 'DisableArchiving_management', 'DisableAttachments_management', 'DisableEditorTracking_management', 'DisconnectUser', 'DisperseMarkers_cartography', 'DissolveNetwork_na', 'DissolveRouteEvents_lr', 'Dissolve_arc', 'Dissolve_management', 'Divide_3d', 'DomainToTable_management', 'DownloadRasters_management', 'DropIndex_arc', 'DropItem_arc', 'DropRepresentation_cartography', 'ESRITranslator_conversion', 'EdgematchFeatures_edit', 'EditRasterFunction_management', 'EditTin_3d', 'EliminatePolygonPart_management', 'Eliminate_arc', 'Eliminate_management', 'EmergingHotSpotAnalysis_stpm', 'EmpiricalBayesianKriging_ga', 'EnableArchiving_management', 'EnableAttachments_management', 'EnableEditorTracking_management', 'EnableEnterpriseGeodatabase_management', 'EncloseMultiPatch_3d', 'EncryptPYT', 'ErasePoint_edit', 'Erase_analysis', 'Erase_arc', 'ExcelToTable_conversion', 'ExecuteError', 'ExecuteWarning', 'Exists', 'ExploratoryRegression_stats', 'ExportAcknowledgementMessage_management', 'ExportCAD_conversion', 'ExportDataChangeMessage_management', 'ExportGeodatabaseConfigurationKeywords_management', 'ExportMapServerCache_server', 'ExportMetadataMultiple_conversion', 'ExportMetadata_conversion', 'ExportMosaicDatasetGeometry_management', 'ExportMosaicDatasetItems_management', 'ExportMosaicDatasetPaths_management', 'ExportRasterCatalogPaths_management', 'ExportRasterWorldFile_management', 'ExportReplicaSchema_management', 'ExportTileCache_management', 'ExportTo3DWebScene_3d', 'ExportTopologyErrors_management', 'ExportWebMap_server', 'ExportXMLWorkspaceDocument_management', 'ExportXYv_stats', 'Export_arc', 'ExtendLine_edit', 'Extent', 'ExtractDataAndEmailTask_server', 'ExtractDataTask_server', 'ExtractData_server', 'ExtractLas_3d', 'ExtractPackage_management', 'ExtractSubDataset_management', 'ExtractValuesToTable_ga', 'ExtrudeBetween_3d', 'FeatureClassToFeatureClass_conversion', 'FeatureClassToGeodatabase_conversion', 'FeatureClassToShapefile_conversion', 'FeatureClassZToASCII_3d', 'FeatureCompare_management', 'FeatureEnvelopeToPolygon_management', 'FeatureOutlineMasks_cartography', 'FeatureSet', 'FeatureTo3DByAttribute_3d', 'FeatureToLine_management', 'FeatureToNetCDF_md', 'FeatureToPoint_management', 'FeatureToPolygon_management', 'FeatureToRaster_conversion', 'FeatureVerticesToPoints_management', 'FeatureclassToCoverage_conversion', 'FeaturesFromCityEngineRules_3d', 'FeaturesToJSON_conversion', 'Field', 'FieldInfo', 'FieldMap', 'FieldMappings', 'FileCompare_management', 'Filter', 'FindClosestFacilities_na', 'FindConflicts_arc', 'FindDisconnectedFeaturesInGeometricNetwork_management', 'FindIdentical_management', 'FindRoutes_na', 'FlipLine_edit', 'Flip_management', 'FloatToRaster_conversion', 'Float_3d', 'Frequency_analysis', 'FromScriptingArcObject', 'FromWKB', 'FromWKT', 'GACalculateZValue_ga', 'GACreateGeostatisticalLayer_ga', 'GAGetModelParameter_ga', 'GALayerToContour_ga', 'GALayerToGrid_ga', 'GALayerToPoints_ga', 'GAMovingWindowKriging_ga', 'GANeighborhoodSelection_ga', 'GASemivariogramSensitivity_ga', 'GASetModelParameter_ga', 'GPXtoFeatures_conversion', 'GaussianGeostatisticalSimulations_ga', 'Generalize_edit', 'GenerateAttachmentMatchTable_management', 'GenerateEdgematchLinks_edit', 'GenerateExcludeArea_management', 'GenerateFgdbLicense_management', 'GenerateLicensedFgdb_management', 'GenerateMapServerCacheTilingScheme_server', 'GenerateNearTable_analysis', 'GenerateNetworkSpatialWeights_stats', 'GenerateOriginDestinationCostMatrix_na', 'GeneratePointCloud_management', 'GeneratePointsAlongLines_management', 'GenerateRasterFromRasterFunction_management', 'GenerateRubbersheetLinks_edit', 'GenerateServiceAreas_na', 'GenerateSpatialWeightsMatrix_stats', 'GenerateTessellation_management', 'GenerateTileCacheTilingScheme_management', 'Generate_arc', 'GeoProcessor', 'GeoTaggedPhotosToPoints_management', 'GeocodeAddresses_geocoding', 'GeodeticDensify_management', 'GeographicallyWeightedRegression_stats', 'Geometry', 'GeostatisticalDatasets', 'GetActivePortalURL', 'GetArgumentCount', 'GetCellValue_management', 'GetCount_management', 'GetIDMessage', 'GetImageEXIFProperties', 'GetInstallInfo', 'GetLayoutTemplatesInfo_server', 'GetLogHistory', 'GetMaxSeverity', 'GetMessage', 'GetMessageCount', 'GetMessages', 'GetPackageInfo', 'GetParameter', 'GetParameterAsText', 'GetParameterCount', 'GetParameterInfo', 'GetParameterValue', 'GetRasterProperties_management', 'GetReturnCode', 'GetSeverity', 'GetSeverityLevel', 'GetSigninToken', 'GetSystemEnvironment', 'GetUTMFromLocation', 'GlobalPolynomialInterpolation_ga', 'Graph', 'GraphTemplate', 'GraphicBuffer_analysis', 'GridIndexFeatures_cartography', 'GroupingAnalysis_stats', 'HighLowClustering_stats', 'HillShade_3d', 'HotSpotsRendered_stats', 'HotSpots_stats', 'IDEdit_arc', 'IDW_ga', 'Identity_analysis', 'Identity_arc', 'Idw_3d', 'Import3DFiles_3d', 'ImportCADAnnotation_conversion', 'ImportCoverageAnnotation_conversion', 'ImportFromE00_conversion', 'ImportGeodatabaseConfigurationKeywords_management', 'ImportMapServerCache_server', 'ImportMessage_management', 'ImportMetadata_conversion', 'ImportMosaicDatasetGeometry_management', 'ImportReplicaSchema_management', 'ImportTileCache_management', 'ImportToolbox', 'ImportXMLWorkspaceDocument_management', 'Import_arc', 'IncreaseMaximumEdges_na', 'IncrementalSpatialAutocorrelation_stats', 'Index', 'IndexItem_arc', 'InsertCursor', 'Inside3D_3d', 'Int_3d', 'Integrate_management', 'InterpolateFromPointCloud_management', 'InterpolatePolyToPatch_3d', 'InterpolateShape_3d', 'Intersect3DLineWithMultiPatch_3d', 'Intersect3DLineWithSurface_3d', 'Intersect3D_3d', 'Intersect_analysis', 'Intersect_arc', 'IntersectingLayersMasks_cartography', 'Intervisibility_3d', 'IsClosed3D_3d', 'IsSynchronous', 'JSONToFeatures_conversion', 'JoinField_management', 'JoinItem_arc', 'KMLToLayer_conversion', 'KernelInterpolationWithBarriers_ga', 'Kriging_3d', 'LASToMultipoint_3d', 'LandXMLToTin_3d', 'LasDatasetStatistics_management', 'LasDatasetToRaster_conversion', 'LasDatasetToTin_3d', 'LasPointStatsAsRaster_management', 'LasPointStatsByArea_3d', 'Layer3DToFeatureClass_3d', 'LayerToKML_conversion', 'LineOfSight_3d', 'ListDataStoreItems', 'ListDatasets', 'ListEnvironments', 'ListFeatureClasses', 'ListFields', 'ListFiles', 'ListIndexes', 'ListInstallations', 'ListPortalURLs', 'ListPrinterNames', 'ListRasters', 'ListSpatialReferences', 'ListTables', 'ListToolboxes', 'ListTools', 'ListTransformations', 'ListUsers', 'ListVersions', 'ListWorkspaces', 'LoadSettings', 'LoadTopologyToParcelFabric_fabric', 'LocalOutlierAnalysis_stpm', 'LocalPolynomialInterpolation_ga', 'LocateFeaturesAlongRoutes_lr', 'LocateLasPointsByProximity_3d', 'LocateOutliers_3d', 'LogUsageMetering', 'Lookup_3d', 'MDPublisher_conversion', 'MXDToWebMap_server', 'MakeClosestFacilityLayer_na', 'MakeFeatureLayer_management', 'MakeGraph_management', 'MakeGridsAndGraticulesLayer_cartography', 'MakeImageServerLayer_management', 'MakeLasDatasetLayer_management', 'MakeLocationAllocationLayer_na', 'MakeMosaicLayer_management', 'MakeNetCDFFeatureLayer_md', 'MakeNetCDFRasterLayer_md', 'MakeNetCDFTableView_md', 'MakeODCostMatrixLayer_na', 'MakeOPeNDAPRasterLayer_md', 'MakeParcelFabricLayer_fabric', 'MakeParcelFabricTableView_fabric', 'MakeQueryLayer_management', 'MakeQueryTable_management', 'MakeRasterCatalogLayer_management', 'MakeRasterLayer_management', 'MakeRouteEventLayer_lr', 'MakeRouteLayer_na', 'MakeServiceAreaLayer_na', 'MakeTableView_management', 'MakeTrackingLayer_ta', 'MakeVehicleRoutingProblemLayer_na', 'MakeWCSLayer_management', 'MakeXYEventLayer_management', 'ManageGlobeServerCacheTiles_server', 'ManageMapServerCacheScales_server', 'ManageMapServerCacheStatus_server', 'ManageMapServerCacheTiles_server', 'ManageTileCache_management', 'MapServerCacheTilingSchemeToPolygons_cartography', 'MapToKML_conversion', 'MatchPhotosToRowsByTime_management', 'MeanCenter_stats', 'MedianCenter_stats', 'MergeDividedRoads_cartography', 'MergeMosaicDatasetItems_management', 'Merge_management', 'MetadataImporter_conversion', 'MigrateRelationshipClass_management', 'MigrateStorage_management', 'MinimumBoundingGeometry_management', 'MinimumBoundingVolume_3d', 'Minus_3d', 'Mirror_management', 'MosaicToNewRaster_management', 'Mosaic_management', 'MultiDistanceSpatialClustering_stats', 'MultiPatchFootprint_3d', 'MultipartToSinglepart_management', 'Multipatch', 'MultipatchToCollada_conversion', 'MultipatchToRaster_conversion', 'MultipleRingBuffer_analysis', 'Multipoint', 'NaturalNeighbor_3d', 'Near3D_3d', 'Near_analysis', 'Near_arc', 'NetCDFFileProperties', 'NumPyArrayToRaster', 'ObserverPoints_3d', 'OptimizedHotSpotAnalysis_stats', 'OptimizedOutlierAnalysis_stats', 'OrdinaryLeastSquares_stats', 'OverlayRouteEvents_lr', 'PDFToTIFF_conversion', 'PackageLayer_management', 'PackageLocator_geocoding', 'PackageLocator_management', 'PackageMap_management', 'PackageResult_management', 'Parameter', 'ParseFieldName', 'ParseTableName', 'PivotTable_management', 'Plus_3d', 'Point', 'PointDistance_analysis', 'PointDistance_arc', 'PointFileInformation_3d', 'PointGeometry', 'PointNode_arc', 'PointToRaster_conversion', 'PointsToLine_management', 'PolyRegion_arc', 'Polygon', 'PolygonNeighbors_analysis', 'PolygonToLine_management', 'PolygonToRaster_conversion', 'PolygonVolume_3d', 'Polyline', 'PolylineToRaster_conversion', 'PopulateAlternateIDFields_na', 'ProductInfo', 'ProjectRaster_management', 'Project_arc', 'Project_management', 'PropagateDisplacement_cartography', 'QuickExport_interop', 'QuickImport_interop', 'RadialBasisFunctions_ga', 'RandomNumberGenerator', 'Raster', 'RasterCatalogToRasterDataset_management', 'RasterCompare_management', 'RasterDomain_3d', 'RasterTin_3d', 'RasterToASCII_conversion', 'RasterToDTED_management', 'RasterToFloat_conversion', 'RasterToGeodatabase_conversion', 'RasterToMultipoint_3d', 'RasterToNetCDF_md', 'RasterToNumPyArray', 'RasterToOtherFormat_conversion', 'RasterToPoint_conversion', 'RasterToPolygon_conversion', 'RasterToPolyline_conversion', 'RasterToVideo_conversion', 'ReExportUnacknowledgedMessages_management', 'RebuildAddressLocator_geocoding', 'RebuildGeometricNetwork_management', 'RebuildIndexes_management', 'RecalculateFeatureClassExtent_management', 'ReclassByASCIIFile_3d', 'ReclassByTable_3d', 'Reclassify_3d', 'ReconcileVersion_management', 'ReconcileVersions_management', 'RecordSet', 'RecoverFileGDB_management', 'RefreshActiveView', 'RefreshCatalog', 'RefreshTOC', 'RegionClass_arc', 'RegionPoly_arc', 'RegisterAsVersioned_management', 'RegisterRaster_management', 'RegisterWithGeodatabase_management', 'RegularizeBuildingFootprint_3d', 'RematchAddresses_geocoding', 'RemoveAttachments_management', 'RemoveConnectivityRuleFromGeometricNetwork_management', 'RemoveDataStoreItem', 'RemoveDomainFromField_management', 'RemoveEmptyFeatureClassFromGeometricNetwork_management', 'RemoveFeatureClassFromTerrain_3d', 'RemoveFeatureClassFromTopology_management', 'RemoveFieldConflictFilter_management', 'RemoveFilesFromLasDataset_management', 'RemoveIndex_management', 'RemoveJoin_management', 'RemoveOverride_cartography', 'RemoveRastersFromMosaicDataset_management', 'RemoveRuleFromTopology_management', 'RemoveSpatialIndex_management', 'RemoveSubtype_management', 'RemoveTerrainPyramidLevel_3d', 'RemoveToolbox', 'Rename_management', 'Renode_arc', 'RepairGeometry_management', 'RepairMosaicDatasetPaths_management', 'RepairRasterCatalogPaths_management', 'RepairVersionMetadata_management', 'RepairVersionTables_management', 'ReplaceTerrainPoints_3d', 'Resample_management', 'Rescale_management', 'Reselect_arc', 'ResetEnvironments', 'ResetProgressor', 'ResolveBuildingConflicts_cartography', 'ResolveRoadConflicts_cartography', 'Result', 'ReverseGeocode_geocoding', 'Rotate_management', 'Row', 'RubbersheetFeatures_edit', 'S57Arc_arc', 'SDTSExport_arc', 'SDTSImport_arc', 'SaveGraph_management', 'SaveSettings', 'SaveToLayerFile_management', 'Schema', 'SearchCursor', 'SearchNeighborhoodSmooth', 'SearchNeighborhoodSmoothCircular', 'SearchNeighborhoodStandard', 'SearchNeighborhoodStandardCircular', 'SelectByDimension_md', 'SelectData_management', 'SelectFeatureByOverride_cartography', 'SelectLayerByAttribute_management', 'SelectLayerByLocation_management', 'Select_analysis', 'SendEmailWithZipFileAttachment_server', 'SetClusterTolerance_management', 'SetDefaultSubtype_management', 'SetFlowDirection_management', 'SetLasClassCodesUsingFeatures_3d', 'SetLayerRepresentation_cartography', 'SetLogHistory', 'SetMosaicDatasetProperties_management', 'SetParameter', 'SetParameterAsText', 'SetProduct', 'SetProgressor', 'SetProgressorLabel', 'SetProgressorPosition', 'SetRasterProperties_management', 'SetRepresentationControlPointAtIntersect_cartography', 'SetRepresentationControlPointByAngle_cartography', 'SetSeverityLevel', 'SetSubtypeField_management', 'SetValueForRangeDomain_management', 'SharePackage_management', 'Shift_management', 'SignInToPortal_server', 'SignOutFromPortal_server', 'SimilaritySearch_stats', 'SimplifyBuilding_arc', 'SimplifyBuilding_cartography', 'SimplifyLineOrPolygon_arc', 'SimplifyLine_cartography', 'SimplifyPolygon_cartography', 'SkylineBarrier_3d', 'SkylineGraph_3d', 'Skyline_3d', 'Slice_3d', 'Slope_3d', 'SmoothLine_cartography', 'SmoothPolygon_cartography', 'Snap_edit', 'SolveLocationAllocation_na', 'SolveVehicleRoutingProblem_na', 'Solve_na', 'SortCodedValueDomain_management', 'Sort_management', 'SpatialAutocorrelation_stats', 'SpatialJoin_analysis', 'SpatialReference', 'SplineWithBarriers_3d', 'Spline_3d', 'SplitByAttributes_analysis', 'SplitLineAtPoint_management', 'SplitLine_management', 'SplitMosaicDatasetItems_management', 'SplitRaster_management', 'Split_analysis', 'Split_arc', 'StackProfile_3d', 'StageService_server', 'StandardDistance_stats', 'StandardizeAddresses_geocoding', 'Statistics_analysis', 'StripMapIndexFeatures_cartography', 'SubsetFeatures_ga', 'SunShadowVolume_3d', 'SurfaceAspect_3d', 'SurfaceContour_3d', 'SurfaceDifference_3d', 'SurfaceSlope_3d', 'SurfaceVolume_3d', 'SymDiff_analysis', 'SynchronizeChanges_management', 'SynchronizeMetadata_conversion', 'SynchronizeMosaicDataset_management', 'TINCompare_management', 'TableCompare_management', 'TableSelect_analysis', 'TableToDBASE_conversion', 'TableToDomain_management', 'TableToEllipse_management', 'TableToExcel_conversion', 'TableToGeodatabase_conversion', 'TableToNetCDF_md', 'TableToRelationshipClass_management', 'TableToTable_conversion', 'TabulateIntersection_analysis', 'TerrainToPoints_3d', 'TerrainToRaster_3d', 'TerrainToTin_3d', 'TestSchemaLock', 'Thiessen_arc', 'ThinRoadNetwork_cartography', 'TigerArc_arc', 'TigerTool_arc', 'TileLas_3d', 'TiledLabelsToAnnotation_cartography', 'Times_3d', 'TinDomain_3d', 'TinEdge_3d', 'TinLine_3d', 'TinNode_3d', 'TinPolygonTag_3d', 'TinRaster_3d', 'TinTriangle_3d', 'Tolerance_arc', 'TopoToRasterByFile_3d', 'TopoToRaster_3d', 'TraceGeometricNetwork_management', 'TrackIntervalsToFeature_ta', 'TrackIntervalsToLine_ta', 'TransferAttributes_edit', 'TransformFeatures_edit', 'TransformRouteEvents_lr', 'Transform_arc', 'TransposeFields_management', 'Trend_3d', 'TrimLine_edit', 'TruncateTable_management', 'TurnTableToTurnFeatureClass_na', 'USGSMPTranslator_conversion', 'UncompressFileGeodatabaseData_management', 'Ungenerate_arc', 'Union3D_3d', 'Union_analysis', 'Union_arc', 'UnregisterAsVersioned_management', 'UnsplitLine_management', 'UpdateAnalysisLayerAttributeParameter_na', 'UpdateAnnotation_management', 'UpdateByAlternateIDFields_na', 'UpdateByGeometry_na', 'UpdateCursor', 'UpdateDiagram_schematics', 'UpdateDiagrams_schematics', 'UpdateEnterpriseGeodatabaseLicense_management', 'UpdateOverride_cartography', 'UpdateTrafficData_na', 'UpdateTrafficIncidents_na', 'Update_analysis', 'Update_arc', 'UpgradeDataset_management', 'UpgradeGDB_management', 'UpgradeMapServerCacheStorageFormat_server', 'UpgradeMetadata_conversion', 'UpgradeNetwork_na', 'UpgradeParcelFabric_fabric', 'UpgradeSpatialReference_management', 'UploadServiceDefinition_server', 'Usage', 'VPFExport_arc', 'VPFImport_arc', 'VPFTile_arc', 'ValidateDataStoreItem', 'ValidateFieldName', 'ValidateMetadataMultiple_conversion', 'ValidateMetadata_conversion', 'ValidateTableName', 'ValidateTopology_management', 'Value', 'ValueTable', 'VerifyAndRepairGeometricNetworkConnectivity_management', 'Viewshed2_3d', 'Viewshed_3d', 'Visibility_3d', 'VisualizeSpaceTimeCube2D_stpm', 'VisualizeSpaceTimeCube3D_stpm', 'WFSToFeatureClass_conversion', 'WarpFromFile_management', 'Warp_management', 'WorkspaceToRasterCatalog_management', 'WorkspaceToRasterDataset_management', 'XMLSchemaValidator_conversion', 'XSLTransform_conversion', 'XYToLine_management', 'ZRenderer_stats', '_NumPyArrayToRaster', '_RasterToNumPyArray', '__builtins__', '__doc__', '__file__', '__name__', '__package__', '__path__', '_base', '_ga', '_gptooldoc', '_graph', '_management', '_mapping', '_na', 'analysis', 'arc', 'arcobjectconversion', 'arcobjects', 'arcpy', 'cartography', 'conversion', 'convertArcObjectToPythonObject', 'da', 'ddd', 'edit', 'env', 'f', 'fabric', 'ga', 'geocoding', 'geometries', 'geoprocessing', 'glob', 'gp', 'imp', 'import_local', 'interop', 'lr', 'management', 'mapping', 'md', 'mixins', 'na', 'numpy', 'os', 'passthrough_attr', 'sa', 'schematics', 'server', 'stats', 'stpm', 'sys', 'ta', 'time', 'toolbox', 'utils', 'warnings']
For QGIS it is called 'iface', so we do dir(iface).
>>> dir(iface)
['__class__', '__delattr__', '__dict__', '__dir__', '__doc__', '__eq__', '__format__', '__ge__', '__getattr__', '__getattribute__', '__gt__', '__hash__', '__init__', '__init_subclass__', '__le__', '__lt__', '__module__', '__ne__', '__new__', '__reduce__', '__reduce_ex__', '__repr__', '__setattr__', '__sizeof__', '__str__', '__subclasshook__', '__weakref__', 'actionAbout', 'actionAddAfsLayer', 'actionAddAllToOverview', 'actionAddAmsLayer', 'actionAddFeature', 'actionAddOgrLayer', 'actionAddPart', 'actionAddPgLayer', 'actionAddRasterLayer', 'actionAddRing', 'actionAddToOverview', 'actionAddWmsLayer', 'actionAllEdits', 'actionCancelAllEdits', 'actionCancelEdits', 'actionCheckQgisVersion', 'actionCopyFeatures', 'actionCopyLayerStyle', 'actionCreatePrintLayout', 'actionCustomProjection', 'actionCutFeatures', 'actionDeletePart', 'actionDeleteRing', 'actionDeleteSelected', 'actionDraw', 'actionDuplicateLayer', 'actionExit', 'actionFeatureAction', 'actionHelpContents', 'actionHideAllLayers', 'actionHideDeselectedLayers', 'actionHideSelectedLayers', 'actionIdentify', 'actionLayerProperties', 'actionLayerSaveAs', 'actionManagePlugins', 'actionMapTips', 'actionMeasure', 'actionMeasureArea', 'actionMoveFeature', 'actionNewBookmark', 'actionNewProject', 'actionNewVectorLayer', 'actionOpenFieldCalculator', 'actionOpenProject', 'actionOpenStatisticalSummary', 'actionOpenTable', 'actionOptions', 'actionPan', 'actionPanToSelected', 'actionPasteFeatures', 'actionPasteLayerStyle', 'actionPluginListSeparator', 'actionProjectProperties', 'actionQgisHomePage', 'actionRemoveAllFromOverview', 'actionRollbackAllEdits', 'actionRollbackEdits', 'actionSaveActiveLayerEdits', 'actionSaveAllEdits', 'actionSaveEdits', 'actionSaveMapAsImage', 'actionSaveProject', 'actionSaveProjectAs', 'actionSelect', 'actionSelectFreehand', 'actionSelectPolygon', 'actionSelectRadius', 'actionSelectRectangle', 'actionShowAllLayers', 'actionShowBookmarks', 'actionShowLayoutManager', 'actionShowPythonDialog', 'actionShowSelectedLayers', 'actionSimplifyFeature', 'actionSplitFeatures', 'actionSplitParts', 'actionToggleEditing', 'actionToggleFullScreen', 'actionVertexTool', 'actionVertexToolActiveLayer', 'actionZoomActualSize', 'actionZoomFullExtent', 'actionZoomIn', 'actionZoomLast', 'actionZoomNext', 'actionZoomOut', 'actionZoomToLayer', 'actionZoomToSelected', 'activeLayer', 'addCustomActionForLayer', 'addCustomActionForLayerType', 'addDatabaseToolBarIcon', 'addDatabaseToolBarWidget', 'addDockWidget', 'addLayerMenu', 'addMeshLayer', 'addPluginToDatabaseMenu', 'addPluginToMenu', 'addPluginToRasterMenu', 'addPluginToVectorMenu', 'addPluginToWebMenu', 'addProject', 'addRasterLayer', 'addRasterToolBarIcon', 'addRasterToolBarWidget', 'addToolBar', 'addToolBarIcon', 'addToolBarWidget', 'addUserInputWidget', 'addVectorLayer', 'addVectorToolBarIcon', 'addVectorToolBarWidget', 'addWebToolBarIcon', 'addWebToolBarWidget', 'addWindow', 'advancedDigitizeToolBar', 'askForDatumTransform', 'attributesToolBar', 'blockSignals', 'browserModel', 'buildStyleSheet', 'cadDockWidget', 'childEvent', 'children', 'closeMapCanvas', 'connectNotify', 'copySelectionToClipboard', 'createNewMapCanvas', 'currentLayerChanged', 'currentThemeChanged', 'customEvent', 'dataSourceManagerToolBar', 'databaseMenu', 'databaseToolBar', 'defaultStyleSheetFont', 'defaultStyleSheetOptions', 'deleteLater', 'deregisterLocatorFilter', 'destroyed', 'digitizeToolBar', 'disconnect', 'disconnectNotify', 'dumpObjectInfo', 'dumpObjectTree', 'dynamicPropertyNames', 'editMenu', 'editableLayers', 'event', 'eventFilter', 'fileToolBar', 'findChild', 'findChildren', 'firstRightStandardMenu', 'getFeatureForm', 'helpMenu', 'helpToolBar', 'iconSize', 'inherits', 'initializationCompleted', 'insertAddLayerAction', 'installEventFilter', 'invalidateLocatorResults', 'isSignalConnected', 'isWidgetType', 'isWindowType', 'killTimer', 'layerMenu', 'layerSavedAs', 'layerToolBar', 'layerTreeCanvasBridge', 'layerTreeView', 'layoutDesignerClosed', 'layoutDesignerOpened', 'layoutDesignerWillBeClosed', 'mainWindow', 'mapCanvas', 'mapCanvases', 'mapNavToolToolBar', 'messageBar', 'messageTimeout', 'metaObject', 'moveToThread', 'newLayerMenu', 'newProject', 'newProjectCreated', 'objectName', 'objectNameChanged', 'openFeatureForm', 'openLayoutDesigner', 'openLayoutDesigners', 'openMessageLog', 'openURL', 'parent', 'pasteFromClipboard', 'pluginManagerInterface', 'pluginMenu', 'pluginToolBar', 'preloadForm', 'projectMenu', 'projectRead', 'property', 'pyqtConfigure', 'rasterMenu', 'rasterToolBar', 'receivers', 'registerCustomDropHandler', 'registerCustomLayoutDropHandler', 'registerLocatorFilter', 'registerMainWindowAction', 'registerMapLayerConfigWidgetFactory', 'registerOptionsWidgetFactory', 'reloadConnections', 'removeAddLayerAction', 'removeCustomActionForLayerType', 'removeDatabaseToolBarIcon', 'removeDockWidget', 'removeEventFilter', 'removePluginDatabaseMenu', 'removePluginMenu', 'removePluginRasterMenu', 'removePluginVectorMenu', 'removePluginWebMenu', 'removeRasterToolBarIcon', 'removeToolBarIcon', 'removeVectorToolBarIcon', 'removeWebToolBarIcon', 'removeWindow', 'saveStyleSheetOptions', 'sender', 'senderSignalIndex', 'setActiveLayer', 'setObjectName', 'setParent', 'setProperty', 'settingsMenu', 'shapeDigitizeToolBar', 'showAttributeTable', 'showLayerProperties', 'showLayoutManager', 'showOptionsDialog', 'signalsBlocked', 'startTimer', 'staticMetaObject', 'statusBarIface', 'takeAppScreenShots', 'thread', 'timerEvent', 'tr', 'unregisterCustomDropHandler', 'unregisterCustomLayoutDropHandler', 'unregisterMainWindowAction', 'unregisterMapLayerConfigWidgetFactory', 'unregisterOptionsWidgetFactory', 'vectorLayerTools', 'vectorMenu', 'vectorToolBar', 'viewMenu', 'webMenu', 'webToolBar', 'windowMenu', 'zoomFull', 'zoomToActiveLayer', 'zoomToNext', 'zoomToPrevious']
4) Get details from document/project file
ArcGIS document/project file is save with the extension .mxd, while QGIS extension is .qgz or .qgs. And the can be manipulated via their respective APIs as seen below:-ArcGIS:
# Create project instance...
prjt = arcpy.mapping.MapDocument('current')
# project file path and name..
prjt.filePath
# project title
prjt.title
# project date saved
prjt.dateSaved
# project author
prjt.author
# project layer count
arcpy.mapping.ListLayers(prjt)
# project coordinate reference system
prjt.activeDataFrame.mapUnits
# set project working space/folder
arcpy.env.workspace
# list shp in working space/folder
arcpy.ListFeatureClasses('*.shp')
# Create project instance...
prjt = QgsProject.instance()
# project name..
prjt.fileName()
# project folder
prjt.homePath()
# project layer count
prjt.count()
# project coordinate reference system
prjt.crs()
prjt.crs().geographicCrsAuthId()
prjt.crs().authid()
# project bounds
prjt.crs().bounds().asWktCoordinates()
