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Rick WicklinMay 20, 2013 0

Ways to multiply in the SAS/IML language

For programmers who are learning the SAS/IML language, it is sometimes confusing that there are two kinds of multiplication operators, whereas in the SAS DATA step there is only scalar multiplication. This article describes the multiplication operators in the SAS/IML language and how to use them to perform common tasks

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Learn SAS | SAS Events

Kathy CouncilMay 14, 2013 0

Wearing two hats at SAS Global Forum

The annual conference in SAS Francisco is now a pleasant memory. And what a pleasant one it was!  I saw so many of my user friends and met some new ones too. When I attend this conference I wear at least two hats. The first is that of a SAS

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips | SAS Events

Charu ShankarMay 9, 2013 0

SAS Global Forum in cool and eclectic San Francisco

San Francisco! The Bay Area and Silicon Valley: innovation, the brightest minds, creating, inspiring new technology and style. This city is known for its healthy food choices.  For example, I spotted a homeless man on my way from the Westin St. Francis to the Moscone Conference Center with this never-

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Learn SAS | SAS Events

Sean GarganMay 3, 2013 0

New programs, new products, new opportunities

These activities may have been announced at SAS Global Forum, but they apply to a much broader audience!  And you can take advantage of them today.  New Program:  Publications is pleased to announce that you can now use Training Points to buy books.  Training Points (previously known as EPTO's) is

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Maggie MillerMay 2, 2013 0

A hub for free video tutorials to help you learn SAS

You won’t find videos of cats or the Harlem Shake on this website, but you might pick up a useful SAS trick that could improve your job performance or career. We launched our new SAS Training video library that houses all of our helpful content. A majority of the videos

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Maggie MillerApril 22, 2013 0

Stat Wars Episode 3: The nerve of some design variables!

Our favorite Stat Wars duo is at it again. This time they bring a SAS user into the mix to help answer her question about PROC LOGISTIC. The user is trying to determine the best method for running logistic regression model on clinical trial data of analgesics used to treat

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Shelly GoodinApril 19, 2013 0

SAS author's tip: Inputting data using text value positioning

This week's SAS tip is from Phil Mason and his ever-helpful book In the Know...SAS Tips and Techniques From Around the Globe, Second Edition. When the book released in 2006, it received a lot of praise from the user community. This quote from SAS user Ron Fehd is a personal favorite: "Phil Mason, one of the SAS

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Learn SAS | SAS Events

Aubrey BarfieldApril 16, 2013 0

An assortment of activity at Global Forum

This year at SAS Global Forum, the theme is “Strength in Numbers” and SAS Education is offering a number of training and certification opportunities to strengthen your SAS knowledge. We hope that you will take advantage of this unique chance to take a class, get SAS certified and attend the

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Maggie MillerApril 2, 2013 0

First-ever SAS training for warranty managers

SAS and the Global Warranty and Service Contract Association (GWSCA) recently teamed up to create the first-of-its-kind training for professionals in the warranty management field. In this Q&A, GWSCA president and course instructor G. Terry Hawkins, shares information about the course and the benefits for students. Why did SAS and

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Shelly GoodinMarch 29, 2013 0

SAS author's tip: Turning off output to the results window

This week's SAS tip is from Lauren Haworth, Cynthia L. Zender, and Michele Burlew's book Output Delivery System: The Basics and Beyond. This monumental guide is packed with a wide-array of techniques and examples. As SAS programmer Christine Iodice said, "This book is one-stop shopping for all your ODS needs!"

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Ruth Dobson-TorresMarch 26, 2013 0

Getting started with SAS? Dial in for some free expert advice

If you’re a new SAS user, you may already be aware that SAS has created specific training and support materials to help you get started with SAS, such as our Getting Started with SAS introductory courses page. However, if you’re not 100 percent sure about all of the first steps that

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Julie PlattMarch 25, 2013 0

Working on “stuff that matters”

“It’s not about how much money you make but to work on stuff that matters," according to Tim O’Reilly, founder of O'Reilly Media. At the recent Tools of Change conference, Tim O’Reilly mentioned during his keynote that writers tend to be motivated to work on “stuff that matters.” Through SAS

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Chris HemedingerMarch 25, 2013 0

Upcoming SAS Talks: Getting started with SAS

Are you a new SAS user who isn't sure where to begin? Have no fear, because you're not alone. Here at SAS, we often receive questions from people who need help getting started with the software. Getting Started with SAS is the topic of a SAS Talks session that I

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Linda MitterlingMarch 19, 2013 0

SAS training students talked, and we listened

“Speak and you shall be heard.”  Well… our students spoke, and we listened!  SAS Education is always striving to improve the training we deliver, and one of the most important ways we do this is by taking the time to listen to our students. Over the past several months, our

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Shelly GoodinMarch 15, 2013 0

SAS author's tip: Structured thinking about writing programs

This week's SAS tip is from A. John Bailer and his book Statistical Programming in SAS. A SAS user for over 30 years, John is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Society for Risk Analysis--and a member of the International Biometric Society and the International Statistical Institute. The following

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Maggie MillerMarch 7, 2013 0

Reach a personal milestone by getting your SAS certification

The SAS Global Certification program hit a significant milestone this year by awarding the 50,000th SAS credential. The program has come a long way since its launch 14 years ago. You can now validate your SAS skills in a variety of credentials including: SAS Programming Analytics Administration Data Management Business

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Shelly GoodinMarch 1, 2013 0

SAS author's tip: Using a MODIFY statement to update a master file from a transaction file

This week's SAS tip is from Ron Cody and his new book Cody's Collection of Popular SAS Programming Tasks and How to Tackle Them. If you're a SAS user and haven't explored Ron's work, you're missing out! Visit Ron's author page to view his extensive list of SAS books, user

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Rick WicklinFebruary 27, 2013 0

How to use PROC SGPLOT to display the slope and intercept of a regression line

A SAS user asked an interesting question on the SAS/GRAPH and ODS Graphics Support Forum. The question is: Does PROC SGPLOT support a way to display the slope of the regression line that is computed by the REG statement? Recall that the REG statement in PROC SGPLOT fits and displays

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Rick WicklinFebruary 25, 2013 0

Initializing vectors by using repetition factors

The SAS/IML language has a curious syntax that enables you to specify a "repetition factor" when you initialize a vector of literal values. Essentially, the language enables you to specify the frequency of an element. For example, suppose you want to define the following vector: proc iml; x = {1

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Shelly GoodinFebruary 22, 2013 0

SAS author's tip: Using JMP to conduct a significance test

This week's tip is from Robert Carver and his book Practical Data Analysis with JMP. If you're a JMP user, be sure to take a look at additional bonus content from the book. The following excerpt is from SAS Press author Robert Carver and his book "Practical Data Analysis with JMP". Copyright © 2010, SAS

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Shelley SessomsFebruary 18, 2013 0

The book writing business: Sanjay Matange explains how becoming an author helped his career

Last month, I talked to Emmett Cox about finding time to write his Wiley and SAS Business Series book.  Like Emmett, many of our authors were already tops in their field when they became a SAS Press author. Sanjay Matange, Senior Software Manager in SAS R&D, was already quite well-known

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Rick WicklinFebruary 18, 2013 0

Empty subscripts: How to fill rows and columns of a matrix

Suppose that you have a SAS/IML matrix and you want to set each element of a submatrix to zero (or any other value). There is a simple syntax that accomplishes this task. If you subscript a matrix and do not specify a row, it means "use all rows." So, for

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Shelly GoodinFebruary 15, 2013 0

SAS author's tip: Creating a composite index for a new SAS table

This week's tip is from Michael Raithel and his classic book The Complete Guide to SAS Indexes. Michael has a wealth of SAS experience and is a frequent and sought-out speaker at SAS Global Forum and regional user group conferences. If you get the opportunity to hear him speak, don't

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Rick WicklinFebruary 13, 2013 0

How to access any program or data set that appears in the SAS/STAT documentation

If you are like me, you've experienced the following frustration. You are reading the SAS/STAT documentation, trying to understand some procedure or option, when you find an example that is very similar to what you need. "Great," you think, "this example will help me understand how the SAS procedure works!"

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Jim SimonFebruary 11, 2013 0

Time to trade in your jalopy macro?

Suppose you have an old jalopy that's perfectly reliable.  Your jalopy gets you where you wanna go: no frills; no drama. Do you trade your old wheels in for a racecar that accelerates like crazy and corners like it's on rails? Or stick with what's old and comfortable?   Your choice

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Rick WicklinFebruary 11, 2013 0

How the J function got its name

In linear algebra, the I symbol is used to denote an n x n identity matrix. The symbol J (or sometimes 1) is used to denote an n x p matrix of ones. When the SAS/IML language was implemented, the I function was defined to generate the identity matrix. The J function was defined

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Shelly GoodinFebruary 8, 2013 0

SAS author's tip: SAS/ACCESS interface to Microsoft SQL server

This week's SAS tip is from Frederick Pratter and his book Web Development with SAS by Example, Third Edition. The many real-world examples in the book guide lend it to being frequently excerpted on this blog! Previously featured tips include: Formatting XML documents, Configuring TCP security, and SQL pass-through. The following excerpt is from SAS

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Charu ShankarFebruary 4, 2013 0

A database professional’s best friend

To optimize a Structured Query Language (SQL), the database professional must befriend this order and perhaps even embrace it. Who is your best friend? I’m talking about the order in which SQL processes your statements. Simply put, in what order does SQL do your work? (From my previous post you

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Rick WicklinFebruary 4, 2013 0

Simulate discrete variables by using the "Table" distribution

I wanted to write a blog post about the "Table distribution" in SAS. The Table distribution, which is supported by the RAND and the RANDGEN function, enables you to specify the probability of selecting each of k items. Therefore you can use the Table distribution to sample, with replacement, from

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Shelly GoodinFebruary 1, 2013 0

SAS author's tip: Outlier detection with ARIMA(X) models

This week's tip is from Gerhard Svolba and his book Data Quality for Analytics Using SAS. Gerhard is a product manager and pre-sales consultant at SAS in Austria, where he specializes in analytics and customer intelligence. Visit his author page to learn more about him and his work. The following excerpt is

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