Glossary

access method

See communications access method.

backward compatibility

the ability of a SAS client that runs a particular version of SAS (such as SAS 9 or SAS 8) to read, write, and update a SAS file that was created using an earlier version of SAS (such as SAS 6) as long as the client's application does not implement new features such as long names. The SAS client and application that run the later version are said to be backward compatible with the SAS file that was created using the earlier version.

catalog entry

See SAS catalog entry.

CEDA

a feature of SAS software that enables a SAS data file that was created in any directory-based operating environment (for example, Solaris, Windows, HP-UX, OpenVMS) to be read by a SAS session that is running in another directory-based environment. You can access the SAS data files without using any intermediate conversion steps. Short form: CEDA.

client session

a SAS session that is running on a client computer. A client session accepts SAS statements and passes those that are submitted to the server for processing. The client session manages the output and messages from both the client session and the server session.

communications access method

an interface between SAS and the network protocol or interface that is used to connect two operating environments. Depending on the operating environments, SAS/SHARE and SAS/CONNECT use either the TCP/IP or XMS communications access method.

Cross-Environment Data Access

See CEDA.

data control block

on IBM mainframe operating systems such as z/OS, a storage area that contains information about the physical characteristics of an operating system data set. Short form: DCB.

data precision

the reliability of numeric data in a SAS file that is exchanged between operating environments. Compatible operating environments, which use the same internal representation for storing floating-point numeric data, exchange numeric data with no loss of precision. Precision is lost when numeric data is passed between incompatible operating environments.

data representation

the form in which data is stored in a particular operating environment. Different operating environments use different standards or conventions for storing floating-point numbers (for example, IEEE or IBM 390); for character encoding (ASCII or EBCDIC); for the ordering of bytes in memory (big Endian or little Endian); for word alignment (4-byte boundaries or 8-byte boundaries); and for data-type length (16-bit, 32-bit, or 64-bit).

data set

See SAS data set.

data view

See SAS data view.

DCB

See data control block.

engine

a component of SAS software that reads from or writes to a file. Various engines enable SAS to access different types of file formats.

entry type

a characteristic of a SAS catalog entry that identifies the catalog entry's structure and attributes to SAS. When you create a SAS catalog entry, SAS automatically assigns the entry type as part of the name.

Extensible Markup Language

See XML.

external file

a file that is created and maintained by a host operating system or by another vendor's software application. An external file can read both data and stored SAS statements.

file corruption

the result of an operation that changes a file's data or the file's header, causing the file's structure or contents to be inaccessible. A common cause of corruption during file transport is that the transport file contains one or more incorrectly placed carriage returns or line feeds to mark the end of record, which makes the entire file unreadable after it is transferred across a network. Communications software can also cause corruption if it changes file attributes such as logical record length, block size, or record format.

file reference

See fileref.

fileref

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.

foreign file format

a relative term that contrasts the internal data representation of a file with that of an operating environment. If the internal formats are not the same, the file format is considered to be foreign to the operating environment. For example, the format of a file that is created in an OS/390 or z/OS operating environment is considered to be foreign to Windows operating environments. Foreign file formats are also referred to as non-native file formats.

forward compatibility

the ability of a SAS client that runs a particular version of SAS to read, write, and update a SAS file that was created using a later version of SAS as long as the SAS file does not implement features such as long names that are specific to the later version. The accessing SAS client and the application that run the earlier version of SAS are said to be forward compatible with the SAS file that was created using the later version.

importing transport files

the process of returning SAS transport files to their original form (SAS library, SAS catalog, or SAS data set) in a format that is appropriate for the target operating environment. The terms 'import' and 'restore' can both be used to describe this process, but 'import' usually refers to the use of the CIMPORT procedure.

integrity constraints

a set of data validation rules that you can specify in order to restrict the data values that can be stored for a variable in a SAS data file. Integrity constraints help you preserve the validity and consistency of your data.

item store

a SAS data set that consists of pieces of information that can be accessed independently. The contents of an item store are organized in a directory tree structure, which is similar to the directory structures that are used by UNIX System Services or by Windows. For example, a particular value might be stored and located using a directory path (root_dir/sub_dir/value). The SAS Registry is an example of an item store.

JCL

See Job Control Language.

Job Control Language

a language that is used in the z/OS and OS/390 operating environments to communicate information about a job to the operating system, including information about the data sets, execution time, and amount of memory that the job needs. Short form: JCL.

library reference

See libref.

libref

a SAS name that is associated with the location of a SAS library. For example, in the name MYLIB.MYFILE, MYLIB is the libref, and MYFILE is a file in the SAS library.

long names

an enhancement that was implemented in SAS 7 to extend the maximum length of names from the maximum lengths that were applicable in SAS 6. This enhancement applies to the names of variables, data sets, procedures, options, statement labels, librefs, and filerefs. Maximum lengths for long names vary according to the type of name. Truncation rules are applied to long names when a file that was created using SAS 7 or later is used in a SAS 6 operating environment.

member type

a SAS name that identifies the type of information that is stored in a SAS file. Member types include ACCESS, AUDIT, DMBD, DATA, CATALOG, FDB, INDEX, ITEMSTOR, MDDB, PROGRAM, UTILITY, and VIEW.

moving SAS files

the process of passing SAS files from one operating environment to another operating environment, either by means of magnetic media or across a network. Three specific variations of moving a SAS file are converting, copying, and transporting.

native file format

a relative term that compares the internal data representation of a file with that of an operating environment. If the internal formats are the same, the file format is considered to be native to the operating environment. For example, the format of a file that is created in a Windows operating environment is considered to be native to Windows operating environments.

precision

See data precision.

regressing SAS files

the process of moving SAS files from a particular version of SAS to an earlier version -- for example, from SAS 9 to SAS 6.12. If the files created in the later version contain features such as integrity constraints that are not supported in the earlier version, then you cannot regress the files. Instead, you re-create the files in an operating environment that runs the later version of SAS.

restoring transport files

the process of returning SAS transport files to their original form (SAS library, SAS catalog, or SAS data set) in the format that is appropriate to the target operating environment. Restoration is performed using either of two techniques, as appropriate: 1) the COPY procedure to restore a SAS transport file that was created by the COPY procedure with the XPORT engine, 2) the CIMPORT procedure to restore a SAS transport file that was created by the CPORT procedure. Restoring is also referred to as reading or importing transport files.

SAS catalog

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

SAS catalog entry

a separate storage unit within a SAS catalog. Each entry has an entry type that identifies its purpose to SAS.

SAS data file

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 set

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.

SAS data view

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. Short form: data view.

SAS filename extension

a standard filename identifier that conveys information about these file attributes: 1) the SAS engine that was used to create the file, 2) the architecture of the operating environment in which the file was created, and 3) the member type. SAS uses filename extensions to identify the appropriate files for access.

SAS library

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

TCP/IP

an abbreviation for a pair of networking protocols. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a standard protocol for transferring information on local area networks such as Ethernets. TCP ensures that process-to-process information is delivered in the appropriate order. Internet Protocol (IP) is a protocol for managing connections between operating environments. IP routes information through the network to a particular operating environment and fragments and reassembles information in transfers.

transferring SAS files

the process of delivering SAS files from a source operating environment to a target operating environment, either by means of a magnetic medium or across a network.

translation table

an operating environment-specific SAS catalog entry that is used to translate the value of one character to another. Translation tables often are needed to support the use of multiple national languages in an application. An example of a translation table is one that converts characters from EBCDIC to ASCII-ISO.

transport engine

a facility that transforms a SAS file from its operating environment-specific internal representation to transport format.

transport format

either of two file formats that are used to move SAS data sets, SAS data libraries, and SAS catalogs from one operating environment to another. One transport format is produced when the COPY procedure is used with the XPORT engine. The other transport format is produced by the CPORT and CIMPORT procedures. Each of these transport formats is the same in all operating environments.

transporting SAS files

the process of putting SAS files into transport format and moving them between incompatible operating environments. The transport process creates a transport file in the source operating environment, transfers the transport file to the target operating environment, and restores the transport file to the native format in the target operating environment. If the source and target operating environments run different versions of SAS, the transport process implicitly converts the file only from an earlier version of SAS to a later version.

V7 engine

the default engine for SAS 7. This engine accesses SAS files in SAS 7 data libraries. The SAS 9, SAS 8, and SAS 7 file formats are identical.

V8 engine

the default engine for SAS 8. This engine accesses SAS files in SAS 8 data libraries. The SAS 9, SAS 8, and SAS 7 file formats are identical.

V9 engine

the default engine for SAS 9. This engine accesses SAS files in SAS 9 data libraries. The SAS 9, SAS 8, and SAS 7 file formats are identical.

XML

a markup language that structures information by tagging it for content, meaning, or use. Structured information contains both content (for example, words or numbers) and an indication of what role the content plays. For example, content in a section heading has a different meaning from content in a database table. Short form: XML.

XML LIBNAME engine

the SAS engine that processes XML documents. The engine exports an XML document from a SAS data set by translating the proprietary SAS file format to XML markup. The engine also imports an external XML document by translating XML markup to a SAS data set.

XPORT engine

the SAS transport engine. This engine accesses SAS files in transport format.