Tools for the Business User or Applications Developer

About the SAS/EIS Development Environment

You can invoke SAS/EIS software in the following ways:

Select Solutions EIS/OLAP Application Builder.
Use the EIS command from any SAS window. You can use command-line options to specify parameter and resource files other than the defaults. For more information about the EIS command, refer to Using the EIS Command or to the SAS/EIS online Help.

The EIS Main Menu appears.

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The EIS Main Menu contains folders that give you access to all the features that are available in SAS/EIS. When you select a folder, you open additional windows that are associated with developing, running, and maintaining an EIS. The EIS Main Menu groups the primary application development tasks into logical units that are represented by and accessed through the folders.

The following list briefly describes the tasks that are represented by the folders. Additional details on the tasks appear in the sections that follow.

Getting Started: opens the tutorial, where you can complete the basic tasks that are necessary to build a simple EIS.
Metabase: opens the Metabase window, where you register data to be used in your application. When you register data, you can assign attributes to each table and column.
Build EIS: opens the Build EIS window, where you add, delete, edit, and test applications.
Applications: opens the Applications window. Use the window to specify a primary public or private application (such as a 3D Business Graph, a Multidimensional Database, or a Map object), and to execute the application that you specify.
Setup: opens the Setup window, where you can customize the environment used to develop and run your SAS/EIS applications.
Report Gallery: opens the Report Gallery Folder, which contains report templates onto which you can drop data to create new reports.
Object Manager: opens the Object Manager window, where you can define new objects to use in your applications.
SAS/ASSIST: invokes the main menu for SAS/ASSIST software. SAS/ASSIST software must be licensed and installed at your site in order for you to invoke it from the SAS/EIS development environment.

Metabase Window

You can register data and assign attributes to each table and column by using the SAS/EIS metabase facility. Double-click Metabase in the EIS Main Menu to open the Metabase window, where you can specify the information in the windows that are displayed.

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For complete details on the metabase facility and for instructions on how to use the Metabase windows, refer to the SAS/EIS online Help.

For more information on the metabase facility, see About the Metabase Facility.

Build EIS Window

To add, copy, delete, edit, or test an application, double-click Build EIS in the EIS Main Menu.

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The Build EIS window provides fields and selection lists that enable you to manage your SAS/EIS applications. Use this window to specify a path and application database in which an application resides. Click Add to display a list of SAS/EIS objects from which you can develop applications.

The windows and information that are required for creating applications differ according to the objects that you use. For details about how to complete the fields in a particular window, refer to the online Help for that window.

Applications Window

Double-click Applications in the EIS Main Menu to open the Applications window, where you can specify the name and location of a private or public application. You can also use the Applications window to execute private or public applications.

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To execute a private application that you have developed, select Set Applications in the Applications window and then select Primary private application in the Set Applications window. In the Primary Private Application window, specify the name of the library and application database in which your application is stored.

To execute an application that you consider public (for example, an application supplied with SAS/EIS software), select Set Applications in the Applications window and then select Primary public application in the Set Applications window. In the Primary Public Application window, specify the name of the library and application database in which your application is stored.

For additional information about the Applications windows, refer to the SAS/EIS online Help.

Setup Window

You can use the Setup window to customize the environment that you use to develop and run your SAS/EIS applications. By specifying values for the SAS files, SAS libraries, and external files used in your EIS, you ensure that your applications execute properly. By defining search paths for the catalogs, application database, attribute dictionaries, object groups, and libraries that are used with your EIS, you ensure that SAS/EIS looks in the required places for your application components. You can also specify a default external print file, change settings in the KEYS window, and simplify the process that is used to build an EIS.

You can open the Setup window by

double-clicking Setup in the EIS Main Menu
clicking Setup in the Build EIS Add window.

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Report Gallery Folder

To create new reports, double-click Report Gallery in the EIS Main Menu. This opens the Report Gallery folder, which contains report templates and other folders that contain templates.

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Double-click a report template to view the report with sample data. To create a new report, drop a table or metabase registration onto a report template. Reports in the Report Gallery can be organized by type, such as tabular or graphic, or by subject area, such as sales.

For information about how to create reports with the Report Gallery, refer to the SAS/EIS online Help or to the Getting Started with SAS/EIS online tutorial.

Object Manager Window

To develop and manage user-written objects, double-click Object Manager in the EIS Main Menu. This opens the Object Manager window, where you can specify the path, object database, and the name and type of a user-written object.

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When you create an object, you enter its data into an object database. An object database is a SAS table of the type SASOBJ that defines user-written objects to SAS/EIS software. The object database for a user-written object contains the following information:

the object type, which differentiates one object from another object and also defines the type of application you can create with the object
a description, which is used as the name of the object in listings
the methods that define the object's actions
which command menu to display when the object runs
information to display when a user clicks Help.

For instructions on how to provide information in the Object Manager window, see the SAS/EIS online Help.

You write the programs that define the methods for the object. To write these programs, you use the SAS Component Language (SCL).

You can open the Object Manager multiple times, which means that you can select a row and drag it from one object database to another. This either copies or moves the object. A Replace/Rename window appears if you drop an object onto an object database that already contains the object.

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