a location on an operating system that can contain a group of distinct files. Different host operating systems call an aggregate grouping of files different names, such as a directory, a maclib, or a partitioned data set. The standard form for referencing an aggregate storage location from within SAS is fileref (name), where fileref is the entire aggregate and (name) is a specific file or member of that aggregate. See also fileref (file reference).

a numeric variable that is used to calculate statistics or to display values. Usually an analysis variable contains quantitative or continuous values, but this is not required.

(1) the data values within parentheses on which a SAS function or CALL routine performs the indicated operation. (2) in syntax descriptions, any keyword in a SAS statement other than the statement name. (3) in macro processing, a character string that is used by a macro function.

any of the symbols (+, -, /, *, and **) that are used to perform addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, and exponentiation in SAS expressions.

(1) in the SAS programming language, a group of variables that are of the same data type and which are available for processing under a single name. (2) a method of defining an area of memory as a unit of information, such as _TEMPORARY_ arrays.

a name that is selected to identify a group of variables or temporary data elements. It must be a valid SAS name that is not the name of a variable in the same DATA step or SCL (SAS Component Language) program. See also array.

a reference to an element to be processed in an array. See also array.

a variable that is created automatically by the DATA step, some DATA step statements, some SAS procedures, and the SAS macro facility.

software that includes a programming language that manages your data, procedures for data analysis and reporting, procedures for managing SAS files, a macro facility, Help menus, and a windowing environment for text editing and file management.

a portion of computer memory that is used for special holding purposes or processes. For example, a buffer might simply store information before sending that information to main memory for processing, or it might hold data after the data is read or before the data is written.

a group of observations or rows that have the same value for a variable that is specified in a BY statement. If more than one variable is specified in a BY statement, then the BY group is a group of observations that have a unique combination of values for those variables.

the value of a BY variable.

a variable that is named in a BY statement and whose values define groups of observations to process.

the process of using the BY statement to process observations that are ordered, grouped, or indexed according to the values of one or more variables. Many SAS procedures and the DATA step support BY-group processing. For example, you can use BY-group processing with the PRINT procedure to print separate reports for different groups of observations in a single SAS data set.

See SAS catalog

a set of instructions that tell SAS to use a specific pattern for writing character data values.

a type of function that enables you to manipulate, compare, evaluate, or analyze character strings.

a set of instructions that tell SAS to use a specific pattern for reading character data values into character variables.

a value that can contain alphabetic characters, the numeric characters 0 through 9, and other special characters.

a variable whose values can consist of alphabetic characters and special characters as well as numeric characters.

a variable that is used to group, or classify, data. Class variables can be either character or numeric values. Class variables can have continuous values, but they typically have a few discrete values that define the classifications of the variable.

a generic term for any window into which users can type or paste program code, or in which they can make changes to existing programs.

in the DATA step, a style of input in which column numbers are included in the INPUT statement to tell SAS which columns contain the values for each variable. This style of input is useful when the values for each variable are in the same location in all records.

text that provides additional information in a SAS program. SAS ignores comments during processing but writes them to the SAS log. Comments have two forms. A comment can appear as a statement that begins with an asterisk and ends with a semicolon: * message ; A comment can also appear as text that begins with a forward slash and an asterisk and ends with an asterisk and a forward slash: /* message */

a symbolic or mnemonic instruction that tests for a particular relationship between two values. If the comparison is true, the result of executing the instruction is the value 1; if the comparison is false, the result is the value 0.

the process of checking syntax and translating a portion of a program into a form that the computer can execute.

an expression that contains more than one operator.

(1) for character values, to combine two or more character values, one after the other, into a single character value. (2) for external files, to access two or more files as if they were one by specifying the filenames one after another in the same SAS statement. (3) for SAS data sets, to combine two or more SAS data sets, one after the other, into a single data set.

(1) in a SAS program, one or more numeric or character expressions that result in a value upon which some decision depends. (2) in the SQL procedure, the part of the WHERE clause that contains the search criteria. In the condition, you specify which rows are to be retrieved.

in SAS software, a number or a character string that indicates a fixed value. Character constants must be enclosed in quotation marks.

a type of execution error that occurs when a SAS program analyzes data that contains invalid values. For example, a data error occurs if you specify numeric variables in the INPUT statement for character data. SAS reports these errors in the SAS log but continues to execute the program. See also programming error, syntax error.

a SAS language element that specifies actions that apply to only one particular SAS data set. For example, data set options enable you to rename variables, to select only the first or last n observations for processing, to drop variables from processing or from the output data set, and to specify a password for a SAS data set.

a group of statements in a SAS program that begins with a DATA statement and which ends with either a RUN statement, another DATA statement, a PROC statement, the end of the job, or the semicolon that immediate follows lines of data. The DATA step enables you to read raw data or other SAS data sets and to use programming logic to create a SAS data set to write a report, or to write to an external file.

(1) a unit of character or numeric information in a SAS data set. A data value represents one variable in an observation. (2) in the rectangular structure of a SAS data set, the intersection of a row and a column.

the instructions that tell SAS how to write numeric values as dates, times, and datetimes.

the instructions that tell SAS how to read numeric values that are represented as dates, times, and datetimes.

See SAS date value.

a character that serves as a boundary that separates the elements of a character string, a program statement, a data line, or a list of arguments.

information about the contents and attributes of a SAS data set. For example, the descriptor information includes the data types and lengths of the variables, as well as which engine was used to create the data. SAS creates and maintains descriptor information within every SAS data set.

a named subdivision on a disk or diskette, used in organizing files. A directory also contains information about the file, such as size and date of last change.

a sequence of statements that starts with a simple DO statement and that ends with a corresponding END statement. See also DO loop.

a sequence of statements that starts with an iterative DO, DO WHILE, or DO UNTIL statement and that ends with a corresponding END statement. The statements are executed (usually repeatedly) according to directions that are specified in the DO statement. See also DO group.

a special symbol that is used to hold a line in the input buffer during multiple iterations of a DATA step.

a value that represents the difference, in elapsed time or days, between any two time or date values.

a component of SAS software that reads from or writes to a file. Each engine enables SAS to access files that are in a particular file format.

(1) in the DATA step, the process in which SAS carries out statements for each observation or record in the file. (2) in contexts other than the DATA step, such as SAS macros, procedures, and global statements, the process in which SAS performs the actions that are indicated.

See SAS expression.

a file that is created and maintained by a host operating system or by another vendor's software application. SAS can read data from and route output to external files. External files can contain raw data, SAS programming statements, procedure output, or output that was created by the PUT statement. A SAS data set is not an external file. See also fileref (file reference).

in an external file, the smallest logical unit of data.

See fileref (file reference).

a name that is temporarily assigned to an external file or to an aggregate storage location such as a directory or a folder. The fileref identifies the file or the storage location to SAS. See also libref (library reference).

a temporary variable that SAS creates to identify the first observation of each BY group. The variable is not added to the SAS data set. See also LAST.variable.

a compact form of storing real numbers on a computer, similar to scientific notation. Different operating systems use different techniques for floating-point representation.

a pattern or set of instructions that SAS uses to determine how the values of a variable (or column) should be written or displayed. SAS provides a set of standard formats and also enables you to define your own formats.

a special symbol that is used in the INPUT and PUT statements and which enables you to control how SAS reads input data and writes output data.

a style of input that uses special instructions called informats in the INPUT statement to determine how values that are entered in data fields should be interpreted. See also informat.

a component of the SAS programming language that can accept arguments, perform a computation or other operation, and return a value. For example, the ABS function returns the absolute value of a numeric argument. Functions can return either numeric or character results. A wide variety of functions are included with SAS software.

See SAS system option.

in SAS output, the text that is located near the beginning of each page of output. This includes text produced by a HEADER= option in a FILE statement, titles written with a TITLE statement, and default information such as date and page numbers.

a pattern or set of instructions that SAS uses to determine how data values in an input file should be interpreted. SAS provides a set of standard informats and also enables you to define your own informats.

the temporary area of memory into which each record of data is read when the INPUT statement executes. Note that the input buffer is a logical concept that is independent of physical implementation.

a number that does not contain a decimal point.

a process in which SAS combines two or more sorted SAS data sets into one sorted SAS data set based on the values of the BY variables.

in the REPORT procedure, a data set variable, a statistic, or a computed variable. An item can occupy one or more columns in a report. Under some circumstances, multiple items can share a column.

up to 256 characters of descriptive text that can be printed in the output by certain procedures instead of, or in addition to, the variable name.

a temporary variable that SAS creates to identify the last observation of each BY group. This variable is not added to the SAS data set. See also FIRST.variable.

a numeric variable that is used with the $VARYING. informat or format to specify the actual length of a character variable whose values do not all have the same length.

the number of bytes used to store each of a variable's values in a SAS data set.

See libref (library reference).

a name that is temporarily associated with a SAS library. The complete name of a SAS file consists of two words, separated by a period. The libref, which is the first word, indicates the library. The second word is the name of the specific SAS file. For example, in VLIB.NEWBDAY, the libref VLIB tells SAS which library contains the file NEWBDAY. You assign a libref with a LIBNAME statement or with an operating system command.

a special symbol used in INPUT and PUT statements that enables you to hold a record in the input or output buffer for further processing. Line-hold specifiers include the trailing at sign (@) and the double trailing at sign (@@).

a style of input that supplies variable names, not column locations, in the INPUT statement to scan input records for data values that are separated by at least one blank or by some other delimiter.

SAS procedure output that is in a monospace font. All text in listing output has the same font size, and no special font styles are applied to it.

a framework into which engines fit information for processing by SAS. This data model is a logical representation of data or files, not a physical structure.

an operator that is used in expressions to link sequences of comparisons. The logical operators are AND, OR, and NOT.

a process in which SAS joins observations from two or more SAS data sets according to the values of the BY variables. See also one-to-one merging.

a SAS file in a SAS library.

a name that is assigned to a SAS file in a SAS library.

the primary list of items at the top of a window, which represent the actions or classes of actions that can be executed. Selecting an item executes an action, opens a pull-down menu, or opens a dialog box that requests additional information.

the process of combining observations from two or more SAS data sets into a single observation in a new SAS data set. See also match-merging, one-to-one merging.

(1) in SAS, a term that describes the contents of a variable that contains no data for a particular row or observation. By default, SAS prints or displays a missing numeric value as a single period, and it prints or displays a missing character value as a blank space. (2) in the SQL procedure, the equivalent of an SQL NULL value.

a style of input that uses instructions called informats and format modifiers in the INPUT statement. Modified list input scans input records for data values that are separated by at least one blank (or by some other delimiter), or in some cases, by multiple blanks.

data that appear in alternate or nonstandard forms, such as numbers that contain commas.

a set of instructions that tell SAS to use a specific pattern for writing the values of numeric variables.

a set of instructions that tell SAS to use a specific pattern for reading numeric data values.

a value that usually contains only numbers, which can include numbers in E-notation and hexadecimal notation. A numeric value can sometimes contain a decimal point, a plus sign, or a minus sign. Numeric values are stored in numeric variables.

a variable that contains only numeric values and related symbols, such as decimal points, plus signs, and minus signs. By default, SAS stores all numeric variables in floating-point representation.

a row in a SAS data set. All of the data values in an observation are associated with a single entity such as a customer or a state. Each observation contains one data value for each variable.

a one-part name for a SAS file in which the libref (library reference) is omitted and only the filename is specified. When you specify a one-level name, the default temporary library, Work, is assumed.

the process of combining observations from two or more data sets into one observation using two or more SET statements to read observations independently from each data set. See also match-merging.

the process of using the MERGE statement (without a BY statement) to combine observations from two or more data sets based on the observations' positions in the data sets. See also match-merging.

any of the variables and constants in a SAS expression that contains operators, variables, and constants.

in a SAS expression, any of several symbols that request a comparison, a logical operation, or an arithmetic calculation.

(1) the size of a page of printed output. (2) the number of bytes of data that SAS moves between external storage and memory in one input/output operation. Page size is analogous to buffer size for SAS data sets.

See program data vector (PDV).

a SAS library that is not deleted when a SAS session ends, and which is therefore available to subsequent SAS sessions. Unless the USER libref is defined, you use a two-level name to access a file in a permanent library. The first-level name is the libref, and the second-level name is the member name. See also libref (library reference), member.

a file in a SAS data library that is not deleted when the SAS session or job terminates.

the name that the operating system uses to identify a file.

in the DATA step, a programming tool that SAS uses to keep track of its position in the input or output buffer.

the process of instructing SAS to move the pointer before reading or writing data.

a group of SAS statements that call and execute a SAS procedure. A PROC step usually takes a SAS data set as input.

See SAS procedure.

an external file that contains the result of the analysis that a SAS procedure performs or the report that the procedure produces. Most SAS procedures write output to the procedure output file by default. Reports that are produced by SAS DATA steps, using PUT statements and a FILE statement with the PRINT destination, also go to this file. See also external file, DATA step.

the temporary area of computer memory in which SAS builds a SAS data set, one observation at a time. The program data vector is a logical concept and does not necessarily correspond to a single contiguous area of memory.

a flaw in the logic of a SAS program that can cause the program to fail or to perform differently than the programmer intended. See also data error, syntax error.

the list of menu items or choices that appears when you choose an item from a menu bar or from another menu.

(1) data that has not been read into a SAS data set. (2) in statistical analysis, data (including data in SAS data sets) that has not had a particular operation, such as standardization, performed on it.

a SAS file that stores many different kinds of information in smaller units called catalog entries. A single SAS catalog can contain several different types of catalog entries.

a type of SAS data set that contains data values as well as descriptor information that is associated with the data. The descriptor information includes information such as the data types and lengths of the variables, as well as the name of the engine that was used to create the data. SAS data files are of member type DATA. A PROC SQL table is a SAS data file.

a collection of one or more SAS files that are recognized by SAS and which are referenced and stored as a unit. Each file is a member of the library.

a file whose contents are in one of the native SAS file formats. There are two types of SAS data sets: SAS data files and SAS data views. SAS data files contain data values in addition to descriptor information that is associated with the data. SAS data views contain only the descriptor information plus other information that is required for retrieving data values from other SAS data sets or from files whose contents are in other software vendors' file formats.

an option that appears in parentheses after a SAS data set name. Data set options specify actions that apply only to the processing of that SAS data set.

a type of SAS data set that retrieves data values from other files. A SAS data view contains only descriptor information such as the data types and lengths of the variables (columns), plus other information that is required for retrieving data values from other SAS data sets or from files that are stored in other software vendors' file formats. SAS data views can be created by the ACCESS and SQL procedures, as well as by the SAS DATA step.

a string in the form 'ddMMMyy'd or 'ddMMMyyyy'd that represents a date in a SAS statement. The string is enclosed in quotation marks and is followed by the character d (for example, '6JUL01'd, '06JUL01'd, '6 JUL2001'd, or '06JUL2001'd).

an integer that represents a date in SAS software. The integer represents the number of days between January 1, 1960, and another specified date. For example, the SAS date value 366 represents the calendar date January 1, 1961.

a string in the form 'ddMMMyy:hh:mm:ss'dt or 'ddMMMyyyy:hh:mm:ss'dt that represents a date and time in SAS. The string is enclosed in quotation marks and is followed by the characters dt (for example, '06JUL2001:09:53:22'dt).

an integer that represents a date and a time in SAS software. The integer represents the number of seconds between midnight, January 1, 1960, and another specified date and time. For example, the SAS datetime value for 9:30 a.m., June 5, 2000, is 1275816600.

a software application with a point-and-click interface that gives users access to the functionality of many components of SAS software. Interactive dialog boxes guide users through data analysis tasks and reporting tasks, and users can easily export the results of those tasks to other Windows applications or servers. SAS Enterprise Guide provides access not only to SAS data files, but also to data that is in a wide variety of other software vendors' formats and in other operating system formats.

a sequence of operands and operators that form a set of instructions that SAS processes and which resolve to a single value. SAS expressions are used in SAS program statements to create variables, to assign values, to calculate new values, to transform variables, and to perform conditional processing. SAS expressions can resolve to numeric values, character values, or Boolean values.

a specially structured file that is created, organized, and, optionally, maintained by SAS. A SAS file can be a SAS data set, a catalog, a stored program, an access descriptor, a utility file, a multidimensional database file, a financial database file, a data mining database file, or an item store file.

See function.

a literal that is a primary part of the SAS language. Keywords are statement names, function names, command names, macro statement names, and macro function names.

a file that contains a record of the SAS statements that you enter as well as messages about the execution of your program.

a name that is assigned to items such as SAS variables and SAS data sets. The first character must be a letter or an underscore. Subsequent characters can be letters, numbers, or underscores. Blanks and special characters (except the underscore) are not allowed. The maximum length of a SAS name depends on the language element that it is assigned to. Many SAS names, such as names of DATA step variables and array names, can be 32 characters long. Others, such as librefs and filerefs, have a maximum length of 8 characters.

See operator.

a program that produces reports, manages files, or analyzes data and which is accessed with a PROC statement. Many procedures are included in SAS software.

a sequence of related SAS statements.

the activity between invoking and exiting a specific SAS software product.

a string of SAS keywords, SAS names, and special characters and operators that instructs SAS to perform an operation or that gives information to SAS. Each SAS statement ends with a semicolon.

an option that affects the processing of an entire SAS program or interactive SAS session from the time the option is specified until it is changed. Examples of items that are controlled by SAS system options include the appearance of SAS output, the handling of some files that are used by SAS, the use of system variables, the processing of observations in SAS data sets, features of SAS initialization, and the way SAS interacts with your host operating environment.

a string in the form 'hh:mm:ss't that represents a time in a SAS statement. The string is enclosed in quotation marks and is followed by the character t (for example, '09:53:22't).

an integer that represents a time in SAS. The integer represents the number of seconds between midnight of the current day and another specified time value. (For example, the SAS time value for 9:30 a.m. is 34200.)

an interactive windowing interface to SAS software. In this environment you can issue commands by typing them on the command line, by pressing function keys, or by selecting items from menus or menu bars. Within one session, you can perform many different tasks, including preparing and submitting programs, viewing and printing results, and debugging and resubmitting programs.

a SAS data library supplied by SAS software that stores the text for Help windows, default function-key definitions and window definitions, and menus.

a default, permanent SAS data library that is created at the beginning of your first SAS session. The Sasuser library contains a Profile catalog that stores the customized features or settings that you specify for SAS. You can also store other SAS files in this library.

a word that you specify in a particular SAS statement and which affects only the processing that that statement performs.

the process by which SAS checks each SAS statement for proper usage, correct spelling, proper SAS naming conventions, and so on.

an error in the spelling or grammar of a SAS statement. SAS finds syntax errors as it compiles each SAS step before execution. See also data error, programming error.

See SAS system option.

the variable to which the result of a function or expression is assigned.

the bar at the bottom of the Windows desktop that displays active applications. The taskbar enables you to easily switch between applications and to restore, move, size, minimize, maximize, and close applications.

a library that exists only for the current SAS session or job. The most common temporary library is the Work library. See also Work library.

a SAS file in a SAS data library (usually the Work library) that is deleted at the end of the SAS session or job.

another term for listing output.

a heading that is printed at the top of each page of SAS output or of the SAS log.

an option, parameter, or other mechanism that enables you to turn on or turn off a processing feature.

a special symbol that is used to hold a line of input or output so that SAS can read from it or write to it in a subsequent INPUT or PUT statement.

See variable type.

See format.

a column in a SAS data set or in a SAS data view. The data values for each variable describe a single characteristic for all observations. Each SAS variable can have the following attributes: name, data type (character or numeric), length, format, informat, and label.

the name, label, format, informat, data type, and length that are associated with a particular variable.

a list of variables. You can use abbreviated variable lists in many SAS statements instead of listing all the variable names.

the classification of a variable as either numeric or character. Type is an attribute of SAS variables.

See SAS data view.

See SAS windowing environment.

a temporary SAS data library that is automatically defined by SAS at the beginning of each SAS session or SAS job. Unless you have specified a User library, any newly created SAS file that has a one-level name will be placed in the Work library by default and will be deleted at the end of the current SAS session or job.