Esri, the geospatial software company known for its ArcGIS platform, adopted and integrated Python into their ArcGIS desktop software, as well as its successor ArcGIS Pro. The first Python site package developed by Esri was the ArcPy site package, which is a collection of Python modules that offers all existing, as well as extended, ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro functionality. Python can now be used as a scripting and programming language to automate repetitive tasks that involve a lot of interaction with the Graphical User Interface (GUI). With ArcPy, these tasks could be carried out through a Python script, add-on, or toolbox.

Python was introduced successfully with ArcGIS desktop, while GIS itself was moving into the cloud—not only geospatial data but also the software itself. Esri offered organizations the possibility to do this through a variety of cloud environment offerings, using either public, private, or hybrid cloud services. In this chapter, we'll be using ArcGIS Online, the Software as a Service (SaaS) offering that allows users to create, store, and manage maps, applications, and data. Over the last few years, ArcGIS Online has become a key component and an integral part of Esri's ArcGIS system. Its users can share maps within an organization or the world, through ready-to-use tools that are available for the web, smartphones, and tablets.