Dictionary

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This is a dictionary of abbreviations, acronyms, and concepts relating to SAS. Short definitions are supplemented with wiki links, where applicable.

Use CTRL + F (or ⌘ + F on a Mac) to search this page.

For more information, see the Base SAS Glossary.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z - # - See also

A

  • AI - artificial intelligence [1] [2]
  • AJAX - Asynchronous Javascript and XML
  • APA - SAS Asset Performance Analysis [4]
  • assertion - instruction to a runtime environment that the program currently running should fail with an error if the specified condition is not true
  • autoexec - .sas file that will automatically execute when SAS is initialized

B

  • Big Data - buzzword used to describe the existence, analysis, and management of large, growing sets of data

C

  • C2H - contract-to-hire
  • CART - Classification And Regression Tree [analysis] [5] [6]
  • CAS - Cloud Analytics Services; for example, SAS Viya; see more at [7]
  • _CHARACTER_ - keyword that can be used as a variable naming shortcut. Stands for all character variables. Example: VAR _CHARACTER_;
  • -CHARACTER- - keyword that can be used with named range variable lists as a variable naming shortcut . Stands for all character variables, in PDV order. Example: VAR NAME -CHARACTER- CITY;
  • cloud - in computing, refers to using shared, networked resources in a scalable way that greatly reduces resource management overhead [9] For example, SAS running on a server, SAS Cloud Analytics,[10] and SAS OnDemand for Academics [11]
  • CMYK - cyan magenta yellow key (black), a color model for describing colors numerically [12]
  • comment - section of a code file that is ignored by the interpreter/compiler, and can be used to prevent code from execution or add notes and documentation
  • compression - Method of reducing the amount of space data takes up. Compression algorithms can be very efficient on text, and SAS also has built-in data compression [13] that can greatly reduce the size of datasets. See Category:COMPRESS Function and ZIP.
  • CSV - comma-separated values format for data/files. These files are in fact text files (so they may be opened in any text editor). In a general case, other delimiters such as spaces, tabs, pipes (|), or other characters may be used.

D

  • d - stands for the number of decimals in SAS formats and informats
  • data wrangling - also known as data munging, this is the process of transforming raw data so it is usable in modeling or other purposes. For more information, see the Wikipedia article and [15]
  • DB - database
  • de-identification - term for various methods of masking or obfuscating [clinical] data so it may be shared publicly (i.e., in research) but no longer identifies individuals. See this paper for more on that. See also the Wikipedia article.
  • delimiter - character (or multiple characters) that separates data in a text format into individual variables. A CSV file is one example of delimited data. Examples include 1,2,3 or name|title|salary. [19]
  • DLM - stands for delimiter, which may be a comma for comma-separated value (CSV) files, another character such as a pipe (|), or even space(s) or tab(s)
  • DMAIC - define, measure, analyze, improve, and control; problem solving approach used in lean/six sigma; see this paper
  • DOSUB - allows for code in another file (provided by a fileref) to be called from within a DATA Step [20] [21]
  • DOSUBL - related function to DOSUB; enables macros or code to be called from a passed text string and results are passed back to the calling routine [22] [23]
  • DQ - data quality; see Wikipedia for an introduction to the concept
  • DS2 - SAS proprietary object-oriented programming language for advanced data manipulation; see SAS Support and whitepaper
  • DSC - Data Science Central, a website and newsletter that aggregates blog posts and other articles on topics relating to data science, statistics, and programming
  • DSD - (1) delimiter-sensitive data,[24] for delimiter-separated data including blanks/missing values, quotes, etc.[25]; (2) data step debugger; see this paper

E

  • EEL - Expression Engine Language, part of DataFlux Data Management Platform [26]
  • EFI - external file interface [27]
  • EGP - .egp is the extension for Enterprise Guide Project files. These files are .zip with a different extension and contain code and metadata for your SAS project. Code can also be stored externally and linked internally. .egp files are binary, and thus do not work well with version control.
  • EOF - end-of-file
  • EP - SAS Embedded Process [28]
  • ESP - SAS Event Stream Processing [30] [31]
  • ETL - extract, transform, load; refers to the general database/analysis process of pulling from the data source(s), performing any transformations on the data, and storing in a desired output location/database [32]
  • EVDM - Environment Manager Data Mart [33]

F

  • FAQ - Frequently Asked Question(s)
  • FCMP - The SAS Function Compiler [34]
  • fileref - file reference; method of assigning a pointer to an external file for read/write access [35]

G

  • GEL - SAS Global Enablement & Learning
  • GNU - acronym for the GNU Project that stands for "GNU's not Unix"
  • GUI - graphical user interface

H

  • hiter - keyword for a hash iterator object in SAS [41]
  • HOW - hands-on workshop
  • HSL (sometimes HLS) - hue, saturation, lightness, a representation of points from the RGB color model [44] [45]
  • HSV - hue, saturation, value (sometimes HSB [brightness] or HSI [intensity]), a representation of points from the RGB color model [46] [47]

I

  • IFSUG - The Insurance & Finance SAS Users Group
  • IHUG - in-house user group
  • IIA - International Institute for Analytics [48]
  • integrated analytics - term referring to both centralized data (data warehouse) and tools for analysis and application of data-driven decision-making
  • IOM - Integrated Object Model; technology for using SAS on servers, while distributing objects to clients [49]
  • IT - information technology
  • IWA - Integrated Windows Authentication, used to verify a user's login without a prompt [50]

J

  • JSL - JMP Scripting Language [51]
  • JSON - JavaScript Object Notation, which uses formatted text to communicate data and attributes; see Wikipedia and SAS blog post

K

  • KSFE - the Konferenz der SAS-Anwender in Forschung und Entwicklung, translated: Conference of SAS Users in Research and Development (link via the German SAS-Wiki)

L

  • LCL - lower control limit [52]
  • library - collection of one or more datasets, recognized by SAS as a unit (essentially like a folder on your file system) [53]

M

  • MDM - master data management; refers to how an organization manages data and processes from various levels in a unified manner. For more information, see the Wikipedia article.
  • MinnSUG - Minnesota SAS Users Group
  • ML - machine learning [65] [66]; possible in SAS Enterprise Miner and Viya [67] [68]
  • MNC - multi-national company
  • MWSUG - MidWest SAS Users Group

N

  • N - if an N is used in a SAS format or informat, it signifies that no special characters should be used, to separate month/date/year values, for example [70]
  • _N_ - automatic variable _N_ is effectively a counter of the implied loop of the DATA step, as it counts the number of executions of the DATA statement.
  • noobs - stands for no observations; option that suppresses printing of observation numbers in PROC PRINT, etc.
  • _NUMERIC_ - keyword that can be used as a variable naming shortcut. Stands for all numeric variables. Example: VAR _NUMERIC_;
  • -NUMERIC- - keyword that can be used with named range variable lists as a variable naming shortcut . Stands for all numeric variables, in PDV order. Example: VAR HEIGHT -NUMERIC- WEIGHT;

O

  • ODS - Output Delivery System, how SAS outputs reports
  • OS - operating system

P

  • PASASUG - Portland Area SAS User Group
  • PDV - Program Data Vector
  • pgm - abbreviated form of program, used for example in the DATA step [73]
  • PharmaSUG - the Pharmaceutical Industry SAS® Users Group
  • PROC - short for procedure

Q

  • QKB - Quality Knowledge Base [76] [77]

R

  • R - another statistical programming language
  • regex - regular expression, a way to describe a string or pattern for searching or replacing text
  • ROLAP - relational online analytical processing; see OLAP
  • RTDM - Real-Time Decision Manager [79] [80]
  • RWE - real-world evidence; available data from relevant sources used in analysis and decision-making. Generally, this term applies to health fields. [81] [82]

S

  • SAS - originally was an acronym for Statistical Analysis System
  • SAS/AF - SAS applications facility
  • SAS EBI - SAS Enterprise BI [Server] [83] [84]
  • SAS/ETS - SAS econometrics and time series analysis [85]
  • SAS/FSP - SAS procedures for full-screen, interactive data manipulation [86]
  • SASHELP - library that exists by default in your SAS system. It includes sample data sets used in many demos and training modules, as well as informative datasets that contain information about the system and datasets currently in use.
  • SAS/IML - SAS' interactive matrix language
  • SAS-L - SAS electronic mailing list
  • SAS-L BOF - SAS-L "birds of a feather" meetup session
  • SAS LASR Analytic Server - server/analytics platform that allows multiple users to access in-memory data [88] and works with distributed computing environments using Hadoop or Teradata [89]; see also the documentation
  • SAS MA - SAS Marketing Automation [90]
  • SAS MO - SAS Marketing Optimization [91]
  • SAS/OR - SAS Operations Research software. [93] See, e.g., this paper.
  • SAS/QC – quality control
  • SAS System Viewer - standalone application enabling a user to view a SAS dataset without having SAS installed on their system. [94]
  • SCL - SAS Screen Control Language, used historically as a method of developing applications that use the entire computer screen [96] [97]; also known as SAS Component Language or Screen Component Language (see Category:SAS Component Language)
  • SDW - SAS Deployment Wizard [98]
  • SG - statistical graphics [100]
  • SGPANEL - SAS' Statistical Graphics procedure to create a panel of graphs based on specified classification variables [101]
  • SGPLOT - SAS' Statistical Graphics plotting procedure [102]
  • SME - subject-matter expert, also known as a domain expert. To be most effective at SAS coding, one must also understand the domain or application in which the code is used.
  • SPD - SAS® Scalable Performance Data Server [103]
  • SPDE - Scalable Performance Data Engine [104]
  • SPDS - SAS Scalable Performance Data Server [105]
  • SPP - spatial point patterns [106]
  • SWAT - SAS Scripting Wrapper for Analytics Transfer [110]

T

  • transactional data - another term for multiple rows per subject, as opposed to datasets where each row is a single record per subject. For example, sales data with multiple orders per customer and multiple items per order.
  • TS - Technical Support. SAS TS-DOCS are available here.

U

  • UCL - upper control limit [111]
  • UDF - user-defined functions
  • USS - z/OS' UNIX System Services [112]

V

  • VBA - Visual Basic for Applications, language that Excel uses for macro programming [113]
  • version control - method of saving changes to files rather than new copies. This may be tracked over time, and reversion to old versions is possible; also known as revision control; see also git and SVN
  • view - virtual table that can take up less space and subset a table; see Wikipedia and SAS Support for more information
  • VIRK - Viya Infrastructure Resource Kit [114]
  • vlib - virtual library, used in some procedures

W

  • w - stands for width in SAS formats/informats [115]
  • WUSS - Western Users of SAS Software

X

  • X - statement in SAS to run a(n) operating system command(s)
  • XOR - exclusive or, a logical operation that returns TRUE when one but not both operands are true

Y

  • YYMON. - SAS date format that places the two- or four-digit year next to the three-character month name (i.e., JAN); see more date formats

Z

  • Zw. - format used to append leading zeroes

#

For more on special characters, see Punctuation in SAS Programming
  • . - represents a missing numeric value in a SAS dataset; see this blog article for other missing values
  • : - the colon enables reading in nonstandard values and character strings longer than the default eight characters [116] See also That Mysterious Colon.
  • / - enables a DATA step to read from the next line, within the same INPUT statement
  • & - enables reading in character data that contains embedded blanks [117]
  • @ - the single trailing at sign holds a record to be read in, and releases this record at the start of the next DATA step iteration
  • @@ - the double trailing at sign allows the next INPUT statement to read the current record across multiple iterations of a DATA step [118]
  • #n - enables a DATA step to read from line (record) number n (for multi-line input records)
  • 5 Vs - The 5 Vs of Big Data are Volume, Variety, Velocity, Veracity, and Value [120]
  • ® - the U.S. federal trademark registration symbol

See also

sasCommunity pages
SAS.com glossaries/dictionaries
SAS categorical guides
Other links
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