Glossary

axis

a line that represents the midpoints (for a discrete axis) or the scale (for a continuous or interval axis) for graphing variable or data values. An axis typically consists of an axis line with tick marks, tick values (or midpoint values), and a label.

cell

in ODS graphics, a distinct rectangular subregion of a graph that can contain plots, text, or legends. For example, a graph created with the SGPLOT procedure contains only one cell, whereas a graph created with the SGPANEL procedure contains more than one cell.

classification panel

a multi-cell graph in which the cell data is driven by the values of one or more classification variables. The number of the cells is determined by the unique values of the classification variables. Each cell of the panel has the same types of plots.

classification variable

a variable whose values are used to group (or classify) the observations in a data set into different groups that are meaningful for analysis.

dynamic variable

a variable defined in a template with the DYNAMIC statement that can be initialized at template run time.

global statement

a SAS statement that you can specify anywhere in a SAS program.

Graph Template Language

an extension to the Output Delivery System (ODS) that enables users to create sophisticated analytical graphs. Short form: GTL.

GTL

See Graph Template Language.

ODS

See Output Delivery System.

ODS Graphics

an extension to ODS that is used to create analytical graphs using the Graph Template Language.

Output Delivery System

a component of SAS software that can produce output in a variety of formats such as markup languages (HTML, XML), PDF, listing, RTF, PostScript, other formats, and SAS data sets. Short form: ODS.

panel

a graph with multiple cells.

plot

a visual representation of data such as a scatter plot, a series line, or a histogram. Multiple plots can be overlaid in a cell to create a graph.

SGD file

an ODS Graphics Designer file. Users can open this file in the designer and change the graph. Users can also render the graph to an ODS destination by using the SGDESIGN procedure.

style attribute

a visual property such as a color, line pattern, or font property that has a reserved name. For example, COLOR, FONTFAMILY, FONTSIZE, FONTWEIGHT, and FONTSTYLE are all attributes of style elements such as GraphTitleText, GraphLabelText, and so on. Style attributes are collectively referenced by a style element within a style definition.

style element

a named collection of style attributes that affects specific parts of ODS output. For example, a style element might specify the color and font properties of title text or other text in a table or graph.

system font

a font that can be used by any SAS procedure and by other software such as Microsoft Word. These fonts include TrueType and Type1 fonts. Examples of system fonts include Albany AMT, Monotype Sorts, and Arial.