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Learn SAS

Learn about the latest tips, tutorials, upcoming events and certifications

Analytics | Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Rick WicklinSeptember 15, 2021 0

The partition problem: An optimization approach

I previously wrote about one way to solve the partition problem in SAS. In the partition problem, you divide (or partition) a set of N items into two groups of size k and N-k such that the sum of the items' weights is the same in each group. For example,

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips | Students & Educators

Suzanne MorgenSeptember 13, 2021 0

Top Books for SAS Programmers

The Day of the Programmer is not enough time to celebrate our favorite code-creators. That’s why at SAS, we celebrate an entire week with SAS Programmer Week! If you want to extend the fun and learning of SAS Programmer Week year-round, SAS Press is here to support you with books

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Analytics | Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Rick WicklinSeptember 13, 2021 0

The partition problem

The partition problem has many variations, but recently I encountered it as an interactive puzzle on a computer. (Try a similar game yourself!) The player is presented with an old-fashioned pan-balance scale and a set of objects of different weights. The challenge is to divide (or partition) the objects into

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Analytics | Data Visualization | Learn SAS

Rick WicklinSeptember 9, 2021 0

Simulate proportions for groups

A statistical programmer asked how to simulate event-trials data for groups. The subjects in each group have a different probability of experiencing the event. This article describes one way to simulate this scenario. The simulation is similar to simulating from a mixture distribution. This article also shows three different ways

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Leonid BatkhanSeptember 2, 2021 0

Removing trailing characters from SAS strings

SAS' Leonid Batkhan shows how to cut away ANY unwanted trailing characters (not just blanks) from SAS text strings to clean up your data.

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Rick WicklinAugust 25, 2021 0

Convert a symmetric matrix from wide to long form

For graphing multivariate data, it is important to be able to convert the data between "wide form" (a separate column for each variable) and "long form" (which contains an indicator variable that assigns a group to each observation). If the data are numeric, the wide data can be represented as

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Analytics | Data Visualization | Learn SAS

Harry SnartAugust 23, 2021 0

Understanding your data: Visual Exploratory Data Analysis

In our previous section of the series we discussed the impact of missingness and techniques to address this. In this final section of the series we look at how we can use drag-and-drop tools to accelerate our EDA. As mentioned at the beginning of this series, SAS Viya offers multiple

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Leonid BatkhanAugust 23, 2021 0

Removing leading characters from SAS strings

SAS' Leonid Batkhan shows you how to remove ANY leading characters (not just blanks) from text strings to tidy up your data.

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Data Visualization | Learn SAS

Rick WicklinAugust 18, 2021 0

A comparison of different weighting schemes for ranking sports teams

A previous article discusses the geometry of weighted averages and shows how choosing different weights can lead to different rankings of the subjects. As an example, I showed how college programs might rank applicants by using a weighted average of factors such as test scores. "The best" applicant is determined

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Analytics | Data for Good | Learn SAS

Alex CoopAugust 17, 2021 0

Canadian nonprofit meets employer demands with SAS training

Fueled by a number of factors, including a global pandemic, data analytics skills are in high-demand. Organizations like the Youth Employment Services (YES) are well aware of the abundance of data and its growing complexity. That's why they partnered with SAS last year to provide free learning pathways to help

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Advanced Analytics | Analytics | Data Visualization | Learn SAS

Harry SnartAugust 16, 2021 0

Understanding your data: Missing at random versus missing not at random

In our last blog we explored the potential impact of missingness in data in terms of its impact on models which require complete case analysis. We took a simple view that data was missing with an equal, independent, probability for any given model input. This week we explore cases where

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Rick WicklinAugust 11, 2021 0

More on the SWEEP operator for least-square regression models

One of the benefits of using the SWEEP operator is that it enables you to "sweep in" columns (add effects to a model) in any order. This article shows that if you use the SWEEP operator, you can compute a SSCP matrix and use it repeatedly to estimate any linear

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Advanced Analytics | Analytics | Data Visualization | Learn SAS

Harry SnartAugust 9, 2021 0

Understanding your data: Assessing the impact of missingness and dimensionality

In the previous section of this series we discussed ways of assessing the relationship between variables. This week we change the focus to the shape and sparsity of our dataset. One area of Explanatory Data Analysis which we’ve missed so far is the impact of missingness in data. Having missing

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Rick WicklinAugust 9, 2021 0

Never multiply with a large permutation matrix

Do you ever use a permutation matrix to change the order of rows or columns in a matrix? Did you know that there is a more efficient way in matrix-oriented languages such as SAS/IML, MATLAB, and R? Remember the following tip: Never multiply with a large permutation matrix! Instead, use

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Analytics | Learn SAS

students in front of computer, students learning

Lynn LetukasAugust 4, 2021 0

What are the best skills for adults going 'back to school'?

The predicted “Great Resignation” is underway, with the US Labor Department reporting people quitting jobs in record numbers, with 4 million doing so in April alone. At the same time, companies are expected to step up hiring, with 77 percent of executives in a recent poll claiming they plan to

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Data Visualization | Learn SAS

Rick WicklinAugust 4, 2021 0

Use SAS to create mathematical art

In a previous article, I discussed a beautiful painting called "Phantom’s Shadow, 2018" by the Nigerian-born artist, Odili Donald Odita. I noted that if you overlay a 4 x 4 grid on the painting, then each cell contains a four-bladed pinwheel shape. The cells display rotations and reflections of the pinwheel. The

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Data Management | Learn SAS

Ron CodyAugust 3, 2021 0

Migrating from SAS University Edition to SAS OnDemand for Academics

Thousands of SAS users are migrating from SAS University Edition to SAS OnDemand for Academics (ODA). I thought I would share some of my thoughts, having just finished two books using ODA (Getting Started with SAS Programming: Using SAS Studio in the Cloud and A Gentle Introduction to Statistics Using

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Data Visualization | Learn SAS

Robert AllisonJuly 22, 2021 0

How long will your dog live?

How long do dogs live? ... That's a good/tough question. Some live longer than others, but what are the determining factors? Let's throw some data to this problem, and see if we can fetch some answers! But before we get started, how about a random picture to get you into

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Learn SAS

Rick WicklinJuly 21, 2021 0

Operations on lists in SAS/IML

To get better at something, you need to practice. That maxim applies to sports, music, and programming. If you want to be a better programmer, you need to write many programs. This article provides an example of forming the intersection of items in a SAS/IML list. It then provides several

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Advanced Analytics | Analytics | Artificial Intelligence | Learn SAS

Olivia OjedaJuly 15, 2021 0

10 data science job statistics that will blow your mind

In 2012, Data Scientist was dubbed the sexiest job of the 21st century by Harvard Business Review and it is one of the most in-high demand jobs in the world. Data has become a key part of every organization as technology flourishes. As the world become increasingly digitized, businesses are

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Learn SAS | SAS Administrators

Raymond ThomasJuly 15, 2021 0

Going from SAS 9 to SAS Viya and I can hardly contain myself

I am a long-time SAS 9 Administrator, I feel very confident in my understanding of SAS 9 administration. I will admit I don’t know everything, but I have been administering SAS since the days of SAS 9.1.3. I often tell my students I am a general practitioner when it comes

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Analytics | Learn SAS

Rick WicklinJuly 12, 2021 0

The QR algorithm for least-squares regression

In computational statistics, there are often several ways to solve the same problem. For example, there are many ways to solve for the least-squares solution of a linear regression model. A SAS programmer recently mentioned that some open-source software uses the QR algorithm to solve least-squares regression problems and asked

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Leonid BatkhanJuly 6, 2021 0

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.

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Analytics | Learn SAS

Rick WicklinJune 28, 2021 0

Estimate a bivariate CDF in SAS

This article shows how to estimate and visualize a two-dimensional cumulative distribution function (CDF) in SAS. SAS has built-in support for this computation. Although the bivariate CDF is not used as much as the univariate CDF, the bivariate version is still a useful tool in understanding the probable values of

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Learn SAS

Mark StevensJune 18, 2021 0

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

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Analytics | Artificial Intelligence | Data Management | Learn SAS

Marvio PortelaJune 17, 2021 0

El CEO, el catalizador de la transformación digital de las empresas

La transformación digital es un fenómeno tecnológico y de negocio que continúa con una fuerte inercia dentro de las organizaciones de todas las industrias. Esta inercia ha sido impulsada de forma importante durante la actual pandemia, y se prevé que permanezca como uno de los temas centrales en la agenda

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Communications | Education

Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Leonid BatkhanJune 14, 2021 0

Using SYSTASK and SAS macro loops for massively parallel processing

SAS' Leonid Batkhan presents an implementation of parallel processing by spawning multiple SAS sessions using SYSTASK statements with subsequent synchronization.

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Learn SAS | Students & Educators

Sophia RowlandJune 11, 2021 0

SAS and Microsoft Certifications for Data Scientists

SAS and Microsoft certifications can help with your professional and career development. And now, you can even take certification exams from the comfort of your own home.

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Learn SAS

Shelley Sessoms

Shelley SessomsJune 9, 2021 0

We need your vote! SAS Support Communities are on the 2021 Khoros Kudos awards ballot

Cast your ballots for the SAS Support Communities, nominated for the Khoros Kudos Award: Best-in-Class: Community.

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Analytics | Learn SAS

Rick WicklinJune 9, 2021 0

Rank-based scores and tied values

Many nonparametric statistical methods use the ranks of observations to compute distribution-free statistics. In SAS, two procedures that use ranks are PROC NPAR1WAY and PROC CORR. Whereas the SPEARMAN option in PROC CORR (which computes rank correlation) uses only the "raw" tied ranks, PROC NPAR1WAY uses transformations of the ranks,

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