This page contains links to draft excerpts from a book by Warren Repole titled Don't Be a SAS® Dinosaur: Modernize Your SAS Code, © 2008. [See the SAS dinosaur scale below]
Warren was introduced to SAS software in 1979, began presenting papers at SAS users group conferences and meetings in the mid 1980's, and has taught SAS classes and seminars since the early 1990's.
Warren is a SAS Certified Professional, earning the SAS Certified Advanced Programmer for SAS9 credential in 2006.
Warren also maintains a sascommunity.org page.
Warren debuted portions of the book content at a SAS Global Forum 2007 Pre-Conference Seminar in April 2007 and presented an updated version of the seminar at SAS Global Forum 2008.
In 2008, he is scheduled to present a PharmaSUG 2008 Pre-Conference Seminar on Sunday, June 1 and a SESUG 2008 Pre-Conference Seminar on Sunday, October 19.
You can preview the first segment of the book (Base SAS Procedures) in PDF form.
If you are interested in obtaining a printed copy [or CD version] of the entire book, please contact Warren. (sasdinosaur@repole.com)
This page of excerpts was generated on Thursday, May 22, 2008.
Base SAS Procedures | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Duplicate Observations: Remove Complete Duplicates [nodups] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version |  |
| Listing Reports: Insert Blank Line After every n Observation [blankline] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version |  |
| Transpose Data: Convert Observations into Variables [long2wide] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version |  |
| Summary Reports: Row and Column Percentages [tabulatepcts] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version |  |
Referencing Variables | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable Order: Reorder Variables Prior to Exporting [reordervars] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
| Variable Names: Rename a Numbered Range List [renamelist] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
DATA Step Processing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw Data: Manipulate Input Data Lines [inputbuffer] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
Reading and Writing Data | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Combine Data: Maintain a Cumulative Data Set [append] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
Metadata of SAS Processing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| System Information: Files in a Folder [dirpipe] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
Manipulating and Processing Dates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Informats: Read Inconsistent Date Forms [anydt] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
| Date Formats: Control the Delimiter within a Date [datedelim] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
Character Functions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigation: Locate a Pattern (ignoring case) [find] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
| Parsing: Find the Final Word [scanback] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
Formats and Informats | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| User-Defined Formats: Nested Definitions [nestedfmts] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
| Permanent Formats: Availability in a SAS Session [fmtsearch] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
| User-Defined Formats: Missing versus Non-Missing Values [missingfreq] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
Macro Processing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Macro Variables: Store in Global Symbol Table [symputxglobal] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
| Code Generation: PROC FORMAT Code from a Data Set [executecode] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
| Macro Calls: Control through Conditional Logic [executeif] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
SAS/GRAPH Applications | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar Charts: Label Horizontal Chart Statistics [hbarstatlabel] | Printable PDF Version | Comprehensive Viewable Version | |
Key to the dinosaur ratings:
(generally based on the SAS software release in which a better technique became available)
|
Still using primarily Version 8 techniques
You just need an opportunity to get familiar with the latest features in SAS 9. |
|---|---|
|
Still using primarily Version 6 techniques
You definitely should learn some of the new features in Version 8 and beyond. |
|
Still using primarily Version 5 techniques
You are significantly behind the curve -- a budding SAS dinosaur. At a minimum, you need to study the Version 6 documentation. |
|
Still using primarily SAS 82 (or earlier) techniques
You are a true SAS dinosaur using "prehistoric" programming techniques. There is no excuse, even if you are still running SAS code on a mainframe! |