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Programming Tips

Strengthen your programming skills with tips and techniques from the experts

Programming Tips

Chris Hemedinger

Chris HemedingerMay 11, 2015 0

Using FILENAME ZIP to unzip and read data files in SAS

I've written about how to use the FILENAME ZIP method to read and update ZIP files in your SAS programs. The ZIP method was added in SAS 9.4, and its advantage is that you can accomplish more in SAS without having to launch external utilities such as WinZip, gunzip, or

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Michael A. RaithelMay 8, 2015 0

Doctor, I have this friend who has a pain right about here

We have all heard the old joke about the person who sidles up to a doctor at a party and describes in great detail a medical problem a "friend" is having in order to get free medical advice. It could just as easily be a person buttonholing an accountant for

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Charu ShankarMay 6, 2015 0

10 reasons to learn SAS code even when you have Enterprise Guide

New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg made a new-year's resolution to learn code. Apple’s Steve Jobs said, “I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” President Barrack Obama said, "Don't just buy a new video game, make one.

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Programming Tips | SAS Administrators | SAS Events

Rob CollumMay 6, 2015 0

SAS administration and architecture—highlights from SAS Global Forum 2015

I was privileged with the opportunity to present a couple of papers at SAS Global Forum 2015 in Dallas, Texas this year. While there, I was also excited to attend presentations with new and inventive approaches for working with the administration and architecture of SAS solutions. This is a collection

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Data Visualization | Programming Tips

Robert AllisonMay 5, 2015 0

SAS/GRAPH: Intermediate Tricks (a Handbook for the Wizard’s Apprentice)

Did you ever wish you could master SAS/GRAPH, and create graphs and maps that were customized exactly like you wanted them? Then this free eBook is for you! Probably the most memorable book for me was the Necronomicon in the Army of Darkness movie. How many of you liked that

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Programming Tips

Sunil GuptaMay 1, 2015 0

Converting variable types—use PUT() or INPUT()?

How many times have you had a need to convert between variable types such as converting character to numeric or numeric to character? For example, what if you have a character variable with numeric values but you need to perform some calculations? Or, if you have a numeric variable but

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Programming Tips

Stephen FoersterApril 30, 2015 0

You react so quickly! Do you have ESP?

SAS Event Stream Processing that is! The latest release of SAS Event Stream Processing will launch May 12, and numerous customers around the globe are already using it. So what’s the big deal? Why event streams are important to business SAS Event Stream Processing allows organizations to react to events

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Programming Tips

SAS JediApril 25, 2015 0

Jedi SAS Tricks: Warp Speed DATA Steps with DS2

I remember the first time I was faced with the challenge of parallelizing a DATA step process. It was 2001 and SAS V8.1 was shiny and new. We were processing very large data sets, and the computations performed on each record were quite complex. The processing was crawling along on

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Programming Tips | SAS Administrators

Diagram showing SAS deployment defined as compute tier, metadata tier and middle tier.

Rob CollumApril 22, 2015 0

Deploying SAS software--save time and effort with shared configuration

SAS System software supports a wide variety architecture and deployment possibilities. It’s wild when you think about it because you can scale the analytic power of SAS from the humblest single CPU laptop machine all the way up to hundreds-of-machines clusters. When SAS deployments involve many machines, it’s natural to

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Programming Tips

Chris Hemedinger

Chris HemedingerApril 16, 2015 0

How to convert a Unix datetime to a SAS datetime

I watched with wonder as each of my daughters learned how to "tell time." Early in their primary school careers, they brought home worksheets that featured clock faces with big-hand/little-hand configurations that they had to decipher, and exercises that asked them to draw the hands as they should appear given

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Analytics | Data Visualization | Programming Tips

Robert AllisonApril 13, 2015 0

Applying the KISS principle to maps: An analysis of breastfeeding prevalence

How simple is too simple, when it comes to analyzing data on a map? The KISS principle can be applied to many things, including graphs and maps. What is the KISS principle, you might ask? Well, it's not the rock band that my friend Patricia (pictured below) has been known

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Programming Tips

Teri PatsilarasApril 10, 2015 0

Include Info Windows in your SAS Visual Analytics reports

An Info Window is a SAS Visual Analytics pop-up window that provides additional information when a user selects a report object. When designing your report, you can think of an Info Window as simply an additional report section that is defined as hidden. Now that you know what an Info

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Analytics | Data Visualization | Programming Tips

Robert AllisonApril 7, 2015 0

Variations on a stickman graph: Analyzing the Twitter minions

One of our customers asked if I could show him how to reproduce a stickman graph that David McCandless (ala, Information is Beautiful) had created - see screen capture below. I'm not sure that it's the best kind of graph for the occasion, but of course SAS can be used

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Programming Tips

Chris Hemedinger

Chris HemedingerApril 3, 2015 0

How to compare SAS programs in SAS Enterprise Guide

Copy/paste is my favorite method for creating new SAS programs. In my work projects, I maintain a sort of genealogy of SAS programs, because the DNA of one program can be used to spawn many other SAS programs as its progeny. When things (inevitably) aren't working as I intend in

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Programming Tips | SAS Events

Christina HarveyApril 2, 2015 0

SAS Global Forum 2015: writing SAS code for a production environment

Last week, Sara Jones shared a list of sample session agendas designed to help you build your personal SAS Global Forum 2015 schedule. But what if there are other areas of interest or topics you’d like to focus on? This is the first in a series of blog posts that

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Analytics | Data Visualization | Programming Tips

Robert AllisonMarch 30, 2015 0

Paint it black: A song choice or a graph background?

This blog post discusses the use of a black background in a graph. But before we get started, I invite you to have a listen to one of my favorite songs - "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones. Perhaps this song subliminally persuaded people to use black backgrounds in

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Programming Tips

Chevell ParkerMarch 27, 2015 0

Using SAS to add PivotTables to your Excel workbook

In Microsoft Excel, a PivotTable can help you to create an interactive view of summarized data. Within a PivotTable, it’s easy to adjust the dimensions (columns and rows) and calculated measures to suit your ad-hoc reporting needs. You can also create a PivotChart – similar in concept to a PivotTable, but

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Analytics | Data Visualization | Programming Tips

Robert AllisonMarch 25, 2015 0

Spotting a misleading chart

Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory - hopefully you'll enjoy mine about the number of US E1 visas! I was perusing some of the US government charts, and found one on US immigration visas that caught my attention. It was a 3D bar chart, and since I always mistrust 3D

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Analytics | Data Visualization | Programming Tips

Robert AllisonMarch 24, 2015 0

When art and analytics collide

The best graphs are both beautiful and informative - a smooth blend of art and analytics. But more often than not, the two collide rather than blending smoothly... Here is a link to a artistic infographic I recently saw posted by Vendavo on twitter. Their message (80% of your profit is generated

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Data Visualization | Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Leonid BatkhanMarch 20, 2015 0

How to reverse graph axes in SAS Visual Analytics

It may never crossed your mind, but there are real-life cases when reversing graph axes make sense. For example, when Y-axis represents a depth under the sea level or depth of oil well drilling, it makes perfect sense to have zero on top and positive numbers increasing from top down.

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Charu ShankarMarch 16, 2015 0

I can see clearly now thanks to this SAS student

With any software program, there are always new tips and tricks to learn, and nobody can know them all. Sometimes I even pick up tips or techniques from my students while they’re learning broader programming tips from me. Like fine wine, instructors only get better with age. Every customer interaction

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Data Visualization | Programming Tips

Robert AllisonMarch 13, 2015 0

How to use the SAS pi constant

With Pi Day coming up on 3/14, I wanted to make sure all you SAS programmers know how to use the pi constant in your SAS code... All you have to do is use constant("pi") in a data step, and you've got the value of pi out to a good many decimal places

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Programming Tips

Marjorie ShelleyMarch 13, 2015 0

Descriptive statistics—the more, the merrier in SAS Visual Analytics

This blog is not about the original movie The More the Merrier (1943) or its remake, Walk, Don’t Run (1966), which I’ve actually seen a couple of times. It’s actually about the wide variety of descriptive statistics available in SAS Visual Analytics—and when you want to examine the characteristics of

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Programming Tips

Chris Hemedinger

Chris HemedingerMarch 12, 2015 0

Project Reviewer task and Copy Files task: refreshed for v7.1

Two popular SAS custom tasks have recently been updated for SAS Enterprise Guide 7.1. Most custom tasks that I've shared will work without modification across releases, but these two required a special rebuild due to some internal product API changes. The Project Reviewer task allows you to see a detail

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Analytics | Data Visualization | Programming Tips

Robert AllisonMarch 5, 2015 0

Making a 'fun' zip code map more useful

When I saw Robert Kosoro's cool ZIPScribble map, I knew I had to create a SAS version - and of course I had to add a few enhancements along the way.... I was perusing some of the examples on dadaviz.com, and Kosoro's ZIPScribble map caught my attention. It wasn't a particularly useful

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Programming Tips

Gerry NelsonMarch 4, 2015 0

Relationships are easy – for SAS objects!

Somebody once said that relationships are not easy. Well now they are—in SAS 9.4, at least! SAS objects have inherent relationships and dependencies, and a change to one element can often have an impact on one or many related objects. For example, for SAS Visual Analytics reports to work as

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Programming Tips

Teri PatsilarasFebruary 27, 2015 0

SAS Visual Analytics: creating a custom sort order

Does your week start on Sunday or Monday? Do you have a promotional product you would like to see at the top of your list? Do you have a particular order in which you like to view your regions? Custom sorting is now possible with SAS Visual Analytics 7.1. The

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Programming Tips

Russ TyndallFebruary 13, 2015 0

SAS macro variables: how to determine scope

Have you ever created a SAS macro variable and at resolution time received a warning that it did not exist? Many times this warning is because your program referenced the macro variable outside the scope it was created in. Every macro variable created is stored in one of two symbol

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Programming Tips

Teri PatsilarasJanuary 29, 2015 0

Using parameters in SAS Visual Analytics

In the latest release of SAS Visual Analytics Designer, a parameter is a variable whose value can be changed and that can be referenced by other report objects. Why is this an important introduction? This addition means that, not only can you design interactive reports via prompt controls, those controls

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Learn SAS | Programming Tips

Chris Hemedinger

Chris HemedingerJanuary 26, 2015 0

How to split one data set into many

Back in the day when the prison system forced inmates to perform "hard labor", folks would say (of someone in prison): "He's busy making little ones out of big ones." This evokes the cliché image of inmates who are chained together, forced to swing a chisel to break large rocks

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