Overview of Base SAS Software

The core of the SAS System is Base SAS software, which consists of the following:

DATA step

a programming language that you use to manipulate and manage your data.

SAS procedures

software tools for data analysis and reporting.

macro facility

a tool for extending and customizing SAS software programs and for reducing text in your programs.

DATA step debugger

a programming tool that helps you find logic problems in DATA step programs.

Output Delivery System (ODS)

a system that delivers output in a variety of easy-to-access formats, such as SAS data sets, procedure output files, or Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

SAS windowing environment

an interactive, graphical user interface that enables you to easily run and test your SAS programs.

This document covers only the SAS language concepts. For a complete guide to Base SAS software functionality, also see these documents: SAS Output Delivery System: User's Guide, SAS National Language Support (NLS): Reference Guide, Base SAS Procedures Guide, SAS XML LIBNAME Engine: User's Guide, SAS Macro Language: Reference, SAS Logging: Configuration and Programming Reference, and the Getting Started with SAS online tutorial. The SAS windowing environment is described in the online Help.