LIBNAME Statement

Associates a libref (a shortcut name) with a SAS library that is located on the server for client access.

Valid in:	client session
Category:	Data Access
Operating environment:	LIBNAME Statement: UNIX in SAS Companion for UNIX Environments, LIBNAME Statement: Windows in SAS Companion for Windows, and LIBNAME Statement: z/OS in SAS Companion for z/OS.
See:	Base SAS LIBNAME Statement in SAS Statements: Reference.

Syntax

Examples

Example 1: Assigning and Defining a Libref to Access a Library on a Server

Example 2: Associating a Client Libref with a Server Libref

Example 3: Specifying a Server in the LIBNAME Statement

Syntax

LIBNAME libref <engine>
< 'SAS-library'> SERVER=server-ID <options>
<engine/operating environment-options> ;

Required Arguments

libref: specifies the name of a library reference to a SAS library that is located on the server. The libref that you specify is presumed to be the server libref for an existing server library. As alternatives, you could use the SLIBREF= option or the physical name of the data library.

The libref that you specify must be a valid SAS name, and it must be the first argument in the LIBNAME statement.

engine: specifies the name of a valid SAS engine for a client to access the server library. Usually, you should not use this option because the client automatically determines which engine to use for accessing a server. Specify this option only to override the SAS default for a specific server, or to reduce the time that is needed to determine which engine to use to access a specific server.

For example, if the server library is located on a server that is running SAS 9 or later, you could specify the REMOTE engine. Specifying an explicit engine might improve performance slightly.

For a list of valid engines, see the SAS documentation for your operating environment. For background information about engines, see SAS Language Reference: Concepts.

The engine argument is positional. If you use it, it must follow the libref.

CAUTION:

Do not confuse the engine argument with the RENGINE= option.

An engine is used by a client to access a server. An RENGINE is used by the server to access its SAS library.

'SAS-library': specifies the physical name for the SAS library on the server to access. If you specify a server library either as the libref or as the value for the SLIBREF= option, you must omit the physical name.

If you specify 'SAS-library', the name must be a valid physical name, and it must be enclosed in single or double quotation marks. For details about specifying a SAS library, see the documentation that is appropriate to your operating environment.

SERVER=server-ID: specifies the ID of the server (where the SAS library is located) that you previously signed on to. The server-ID is the value of the remote-session-ID that is specified in the SIGNON statement . To specify a server name that contains more than eight characters, you must store the name in a macro variable.

Optional Arguments

ACCESS=READONLY: controls a client's read access to a SAS library on the server. If you specify this option, you can read but not update data in the library.

SLIBREF=server-libref: specifies an existing server libref that you want to reference from the client. Use this option when you want to reference an existing server libref, but you want to use a different name for that libref on the client. If you specify the SLIBREF= option, you do not need to specify the physical name for the SAS library on the server. SLIBREF= server-libref and 'SAS-library' are mutually exclusive.

Engine and Operating Environment Options

RENGINE=engine-name: specifies the engine for the server session to use to access the SAS library on the server. Using this option is usually unnecessary because the server automatically determines the engine to use for processing the data library. Specify this option only to override the SAS default for a specific library, or to reduce the time that is used by the server to determine the engine to use.

CAUTION:

Do not confuse the RENGINE= option with the engine argument.

An RENGINE is used by the server to access its SAS library. An engine is used by a client to access a server.

ROPTIONS=“option=value<option=value> ...”: specifies remote options and options that are specific to an operating environment and that the client passes to the engine on the server that processes the SAS library. ROPTIONS can be specified for either the default engine or an alternative engine that is specified by using the RENGINE= option. You can specify one or more options in the form option=value. Use a blank to separate the options. You can use the ROPTIONS= option to pass any valid option for the targeted engine. For information about the options that are supported by a specific engine, see the documentation for the engine that you use. For details about options that are specific to an operating environment, see the documentation that is appropriate for the operating environment used.

RMTVIEW=YES|NO: determines whether SAS views are interpreted in the server session or the client session. SAS views include DATA step views, in addition to views that are created by using the SQL procedure and the ACCESS procedure (in SAS/ACCESS software).

SAS views, like SAS data sets, are accessed through an engine. Where a SAS view is interpreted determines where the view engine is loaded and used. DATA step views use the SASDSV engine, and PROC SQL views use the SQLVIEW engine. SAS creates a product-specific engine for each SAS/ACCESS interface product that the SAS/ACCESS views use for that interface.

When SAS views are interpreted in the server session, the server session might require large amounts of processor time and storage. However, the amount of data that is transferred to the client session might be reduced. Conversely, preventing view processing in the server session might increase the amount of data that is transferred between the server and the client, but minimizes server processing time.

Setting RMTVIEW to NO causes SAS views to be interpreted at the client.

Default:YES, which causes views to be interpreted in the server session.

Examples

Example 1: Assigning and Defining a Libref to Access a Library on a Server

The following statement associates the libref SQLDSLIB with the SAS library SASXYZ.VIEWLIB.SASDATA. This library is accessed through the server MVSHOST, which is running in a server session.

libname sqldslib 'sasxyz.viewlib.sasdata' server=mvshost;

Example 2: Associating a Client Libref with a Server Libref

The following statement associates the client libref APPLIB with the server libref SERVLIB. This library is accessed through the server MYHOST.

libname applib slibref=servlib server=myhost;

Example 3: Specifying a Server in the LIBNAME Statement

The following example shows a spawner invocation on a computer named MYHOST.MY.NET.WORK. The -SERVICE option specifies that the spawner listens for client connections on port 2323.

spawner -c tcp -service 2323

In the following example, a client uses the TCP/IP access method to connect to a server session by using a spawner. The name of the computer that the spawner runs on and the number of the port that the spawner listens on are assigned to the macro variable REMNAME.

Note: Use a space to separate the computer name from the port number.

A client signs on to the server at the specified port that is defined by REMNAME. The LIBNAME statement establishes the libref SCORCARD to point to a library via the server and port that are defined by REMNAME.

options comamid=tcp;
%let remname=myhost.my.net.work 2323; /* space between computer name and port number */
signon remname;                           and port number */
libname scorcard '.' server=remname;