Overview

In previous years, SAS/IML software was updated only with new releases of Base SAS® software, but this is no longer the case. This means that SAS/IML software can be released to customers when enhancements are ready, and the goal is to update SAS/IML every 12 to 18 months. To mark this newfound independence, the release numbering scheme for SAS/IML is changing with this release. This new numbering scheme will be maintained when new versions of Base SAS and SAS/IML ship at the same time. For example, when Base SAS 9.4 is released, SAS/IML 13.1 will be released.

SAS/IML 12.1 includes the following changes and enhancements:

  • a new syntax for defining default parameter values in user-defined modules

  • a new syntax for reading and writing SAS data sets whose names are not known until run time

  • new statistical functions, subroutines, and modules

  • support for additional distributions and parameters for generating random samples by using the RANDGEN subroutine