Programming the Wordle game in SAS
One approach to creating the Wordle game in the SAS programming language. Ready to play?
Tag: SAS Programming
How to find release and licensing information in SAS Viya?
An experienced SAS programmer recently switched to SAS Viya and asked how to discover what products are available on his version of Viya. We discussed a few older SAS 9 procedures, and I showed him a new Viya-specific way to get information about his version of SAS and his licensed
Jedi SAS tricks: resizing, renaming and reformatting your data
SAS' Mark Jordan shows you how to modify data using PROC SQL, PROC DATASETS and SAS macros.
Simulate events when some probabilities are zero
Several probability distributions model the outcomes of various trials when the probabilities of certain events are given. For some distributions, the definitions make sense even when a probability is 0. For other distributions, the definitions do not make sense unless all probabilities are strictly positive. This article examines how zero
How to assign a name to a color
Some colors have names, such as "Red," "Magenta," and "Dark Olive Green." But the most common way to specify a color is to use a hexadecimal value such as CX556B2F. It is not obvious that "Dark Olive Green" and CX556B2F represent the same color, but they do! I like to
Caslibs and librefs in SAS Viya
When SAS 9 programmers transition to SAS Viya, there are inevitably questions about how new concepts in Cloud Analytic Services (CAS) relate to similar concepts in SAS. This article discusses the question, "What is the difference between a libref and a caslib?" Both are used to access data, but they
Little known secrets of DO-loops with index variables
SAS' Leonid Batkhan reveals how to use versatile iterative DO loops with index variable pertaining to SAS DATA steps.
The case of the missing blanks: Why SAS output might not show multiple blanks in strings
A SAS programmer noticed that his SAS output was not displaying multiple blanks in his strings. He had some strings with leading blanks, others with trailing blanks, and others with multiple blanks in the middle. Yet, every time he used SAS to print the strings to the HTML destination, something
Two New SAS® Viya® Programming Certifications
SAS Global Certification is pleased to announce two (yes two!) new SAS Viya programming certifications. Traditional SAS programmers need to migrate their code and data to SAS Viya environments, and there are important skills required to make a successful transition. SAS Viya includes Cloud Analytic Services (CAS), where data is
Implement a product function in SAS
A SAS programmer noticed that there is not a built-in function in the SAS DATA step that computes the product for each row across a specified set of variables. There are built-in functions for various statistics such as the SUM, MAX, MIN, MEAN, and MEDIAN functions. But no DATA step
SAS Global Forum: Your experience, your way
It’s safe to say that SAS Global Forum is a conference designed for users, by users. As your conference chair, I am excited by this year’s top-notch user sessions. More than 150 sessions are available, many by SAS users just like you. Wherever you work or whatever you do, you’ll
Examples of using the Hoeffding D statistic
A previous article discusses the definition of the Hoeffding D statistic and how to compute it in SAS. The letter D stands for "dependence." Unlike the Pearson correlation, which measures linear relationships, the Hoeffding D statistic tests whether two random variables are independent. Dependent variables have a Hoeffding D statistic
On passing a list to a SAS/IML module
SAS/IML programmers often create and call user-defined modules. Recall that a module is a user-defined subroutine or function. A function returns a value; a subroutine can change one or more of its input arguments. I have written a complete guide to understanding SAS/IML modules, which contains many tips for working
Registration is open for a truly inspiring SAS Global Forum 2021
SAS Global Forum 2021 will be jam-packed with inspiring content. Register today to ensure you don't miss a second of this year's event.
Identify influential observations in regression models
A previous article discusses how to interpret regression diagnostic plots that are produced by SAS regression procedures such as PROC REG. In that article, two of the plots indicate influential observations and outliers. Intuitively, an observation is influential if its presence changes the parameter estimates for the regression by "more
How to conditionally execute SAS global statements
SAS' Leonid Batkhan reveals coding techniques that give you control of when and whether global statements are executed.
Convert decimals to fractions in SAS
I have previously shown how you can use the FRACTw. format in SAS to display numbers as fractions. But did you know that you can also use the format to obtain the numerator and denominator of the fraction as numbers in a program? All you need to do is to
What makes SAS Global Forum great?
The people, the energy, the quality of the content, the demos, the networking opportunities…whew, all of these things combine to make SAS Global Forum great every year. And that is no exception this year. Preparations are in full swing for an unforgettable conference. I hope you’ve seen the notifications that
How to use the #BYVAR and #BYVAL keywords to customize graph titles in SAS
A previous article describes how to use the SGPANEL procedure to visualize subgroups of data. It focuses on using headers to display information about each graph. In the example, the data are time series for the price of several stocks, and the headers include information about whether the stock price
Print the top rows of your SAS data
One of the first things I learned in SAS was how to use PROC PRINT to display parts of a data set. I usually do not need to see all the data, so my favorite way to use PROC PRINT is to use the OBS= data set option to display
Visualizing our Netflix Trip through "The Office"
Over 57 billion minutes of The Office was streamed in 2020. My family bears some responsibility. Here's our activity visualized -- using SAS.
The DOLIST syntax: Specify a list of numerical values in SAS
Have you ever heard of the DOLIST syntax? You might know the syntax even if you are not familiar with the name. The DOLIST syntax is a way to specify a list of numerical values to an option in a SAS procedure. Applications include: Specify the end points for bins
2020 roundup: SAS Users YouTube channel how to tutorials
Find out the most popular SAS Users YouTube channel how to tutorials, and learn a thing or two!
Connect, learn and share during virtual SAS Global Forum 2021
If you’re like me and the rest of the conference team, you’ve probably attended more virtual events this year than you ever thought possible. You can see the general evolution of virtual events by watching the early ones from April or May and compare them to the recent ones. We
How to organize your SAS projects in Git
As you begin managing your SAS code and projects in Git, here are a few guidelines for how to organize your work and collaborate with others.
Moving from SAS Enterprise Guide to SAS Studio
If you're a SAS Enterprise Guide user who is looking to move to SAS Studio, there is a lot to like about your new coding environment.
Tips to simulate binary and categorical variables
When there are two equivalent ways to do something, I advocate choosing the one that is simpler and more efficient. Sometimes, I encounter a SAS program that simulates random numbers in a way that is neither simple nor efficient. This article demonstrates two improvements that you can make to your
Trap and map: Trapping invalid values
Finite-precision computations can be tricky. You might know, mathematically, that a certain result must be non-negative or must be within a certain interval. However, when you actually compute that result on a computer that uses finite-precision, you might observe that the value is slightly negative or slightly outside of the
Working with recurrence relations in SAS
Many textbooks and research papers present formulas that involve recurrence relations. Familiar examples include: The factorial function: Set Fact(0)=1 and define Fact(n) = n*Fact(n-1) for n > 0. The Fibonacci numbers: Set Fib(0)=1 and Fib(1)=1 and define Fib(n) = Fib(n-1) + Fib(n-2) for n > 1. The binomial coefficients (combinations
How to unquote SAS character variable values
SAS' Leonid Batkhan reviews SAS functionality related to the character strings quoting/unquoting, then dives deep into unquoting SAS character variables.