SAS Learning Post
Technical tips and tricks from SAS instructors, authors and other SAS experts.![When a variable is not a variable](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2017/05/Code.png)
SAS variables are variables in the statistics sense, not the computer programming sense. SAS has what many computer languages call “variables,” it just calls them “macro variables.” Knowing the difference between SAS variables and SAS macro variables will help you write more flexible and effective code.
![Can you guess which 10 rivers produce 95% of the ocean's plastic pollution?](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2018/04/rivers_and_plastic_map-702x336.png)
Plastic pollution in the oceans is becoming a huge problem. And, as with any problem, finding the solution starts with identifying the source of the problem. A recent study estimated that 95% of the plastic pollution in our oceans comes from 10 rivers - let's put some visual analytics to
![What makes a SAS user? SAS thinks like me: Dede Schreiber-Gregory](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2018/04/Deanna-469x336.jpg)
During SAS Global Forum 2018, I sat down with four SAS users to get their take on what makes a SAS user. Read through to find valuable tips they shared and up your SAS game. I’m sure you will come away inspired, as you discover some universal commonalities in being a SAS user.
![What makes a SAS user? Introverts find their tribe: Richann Watson](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2018/04/Richann-compressed-309x336.jpg)
During SAS Global Forum 2018, SAS instructor Charu Shankar sat down with four SAS users to get their take on what makes them a SAS user. Read through to find valuable tips they shared and up your SAS game. I’m sure you will come away inspired, as you discover some universal commonalities in being a SAS user.
![A periodic table to help you with your SAS ODS graphics!](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2018/04/periodic_table_ods_graphs-702x336.png)
There were 97 e-posters in The Quad demo room at SAS Global Forum this year. And the one that caught my eye was Ted Conway's "Periodic Table of Introductory SAS ODS Graphics Examples." Here's a picture of Ted fielding some questions from an interested user... He created a nice/fun graphic,
![Jedi @ SASGF: Working with Big Data in SAS](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2018/04/big_data-sasgf2018-702x336.png)
The SAS Jedi Mark Jordan presents his SAS Global Forum 2018 paper "Working with Big Data in SAS"