SAS 9.2 Compatibility with SAS Files from Earlier Releases

Introduction to Version Compatibility

SAS recognizes that SAS 9 customers often have existing data and programs. You want to seamlessly process your existing files, and possibly to simultaneously operate both SAS 9 and an earlier release of SAS. In many cases, you can use SAS 9 to process SAS files that were created in versions 8, 7, and 6 of SAS without first converting the files; however, there are some limitations.

Compatibility between versions will vary depending on the type of SAS file, the SAS release that you are running, the operating environment in which the file was created, and the type of processing you need to do. Compatibility issues are generally handled automatically by SAS. However, there are situations that require you to specify an engine name or to migrate the file.

The additional information in this topic provides general, overview information about compatibility.

For specific processing information and guidelines for migration issues, see the Migration Focus Area at support.sas.com.

The Migration Focus Area is your guide to migrating files from previous versions of SAS to SAS 9. Refer to this focus area for planning and cost analysis information, known compatibility issues and their resolutions, and step-by-step instructions. The MIGRATE procedure, which provides a simple way to migrate a library of SAS files from previous releases of SAS, is documented in Base SAS Procedures Guide.

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