Getting Started with the XML Engine

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the XML Engine a DOM or SAX Application?

The XML engine uses a Simple API for XML (SAX) model, not a Document Object Model (DOM). SAX does not provide a random-access lookup to the document's contents; it scans the document sequentially and presents each item to the application one item at a time.

Does the XML Engine Validate an XML Document?

The XML engine does not validate an input XML document. The engine assumes that the data passed to it is in valid, well-formed XML markup. Because the engine does not use a DTD (Document Type Definition) or SCHEMA, there is nothing to validate against.

What Is the Difference between Using the XML Engine and the ODS MARKUP Destination?

Typically, you use the XML engine to transport data, while the ODS MARKUP destination is used to create XML from SAS output. The XML engine creates and reads XML documents; ODS MARKUP creates but does not read XML documents.

Why Do I Get Errors When Importing XML Documents Not Created with SAS?

The XML engine reads only files that conform to the markup types supported in the XMLTYPE= LIBNAME statement option. Attempting to import free-form XML documents that do not conform to the specifications required by the supported markup types will generate errors. To successfully import files that do not conform to the XMLTYPE= markup types, you can create a separate XML document, called an XMLMap. The XMLMap syntax tells the XML engine how to interpret the XML markup into a SAS data set or data sets, variables (columns), and observations (rows).

See Importing XML Documents, Importing XML Documents Using an XMLMap, LIBNAME Statement Syntax, and XMLMap Files for the XML Engine.

What Are the XML Engine Nicknames?

SAS 9.2 provides two versions of XML LIBNAME engine functionality by supporting the engine nicknames XML and XML92 in the LIBNAME statement. See Understanding the XML LIBNAME Engine Versions: XML and XML92.

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