Stored Processes

A stored process is a SAS program that is stored centrally on a server. A client application can then execute the program and receive and process the results. Stored processes enable you to centrally maintain and manage code, give you better control over changes, enhance security and application integrity, and ensure that every client executes the latest version of code that is available.

Stored processes are like other SAS programs except they have an additional feature that enables customization of the program's execution. This feature enables the invoking application to supply parameters at the time that the stored process is invoked. For example, if you have a stored process that analyzes monthly sales data, you could create a MONTH variable in the stored process. At execution time, the user could supply the parameter MONTH=MAY to analyze May sales data.

You can use stored processes for Web reporting, analytics, building Web applications, delivering packages to clients or the middle tier, and publishing results to channels or repositories. Stored processes can access any SAS data source or external file and can create new data sets, files, or other data targets supported by the SAS System.

You can use the following clients to invoke stored processes:

Stored processes can generate output files in a variety of formats. They can also produce streaming output for Web applications, as well as package output for publishing. Stored processes can operate either on a SAS Workspace (IOM) Server or a SAS Stored Process Server.

For information about how to create a stored process and invoke it in a client application, see the SAS Stored Processes: Developer's Guide. For information about how to create the metadata to define a stored process, see the product Help for the New Stored Process wizard or the Stored Process Properties dialog box in SAS Management Console.