SAS Files Access in a Mixed Client/Server Environment

SAS File Format: Definition

A SAS file format is the collection of attributes of a SAS file that are specific to the SAS release. The following are different file formats:

SAS 9.3
SAS 8
SAS 6

The following are characteristics of newer file formats (SAS 9.3 and SAS 8):

long variable names
long variable labels
long data set labels
integrity constraints
data set generations

For details about newer file formats, see the topic about comparing 9.3 to earlier releases in SAS Language Reference: Concepts.

Client/Server Access to Version-Specific SAS Files

Regardless of the version of SAS that the SAS/SHARE client or the SAS/SHARE server runs, the server automatically selects the correct engine for the format of the library. An automatic engine selection means that newer clients can access older (SAS 6) SAS files on newer servers (and older clients can access newer files when the files don't use new features). To override the server's automatic engine selection, a SAS client can specify the RENGINE= option in the LIBNAME statement to tell the server which engine to use. For example, a SAS 8 client can use the V6 remote engine to access a SAS 6 file on a SAS 8 server.

For example:

libname grades 'SAS-data-library' server=shr1 rengine=V6;

However, a SAS/SHARE client cannot access a SAS 9.3 file on a SAS 8 or a SAS 6 server. Nor can a SAS/SHARE client access a V8 file on a V6 server.

A SAS/SHARE 9.3 server can use any SAS library or view engine to search for and retrieve the SAS files of the specified version. The capabilities of each engine when it is used by a SAS/SHARE server are the same as the engine's capabilities when it is used in a single-user SAS session. For details about the capabilities of each engine in a SAS 9.3 session, see the topic about compatibility in SAS Language Reference: Concepts.

SAS 8 Clients Accessing SAS Files Created on SAS 9.3 Servers

Consider the following:

The SAS/SHARE server has been upgraded to SAS 9.3.
SAS 9.3 SAS files are being created on the SAS 9.3 server.
A SAS 8 client has not been upgraded to SAS 9.3.
Until the SAS 8 client is upgraded to SAS 9.3, the client needs to access the SAS files that have been created on the SAS 9.3 server.
The SAS 8 client cannot access the SAS 9.3 SAS files on the SAS 9.3 server if the files contain SAS 9.3 features, such as long format names.

How can the SAS 8 client, which has not yet upgraded to SAS 9.3, but must continue client/server processing, be accommodated?

As a temporary measure, SAS files on the SAS 9.3 server can be created in SAS 8 format to ensure that SAS 8 clients can access them.

In the SAS application that creates a SAS file, specify the VALIDFMTNAME= option to ensure that format names are restricted to the length that is supported in SAS 8. For more information, see VALIDFMTNAME= System Option in SAS System Options: Reference in SAS System Options: Reference.