SAS views provide the following benefits:
-
Instead of using multiple DATA
steps to merge SAS data sets by common variables, you can construct
a SAS view that performs a multi-table join.
-
You can save disk space by storing
a SAS view definition. The view definition stores only the instructions
for where to find the data and how it is formatted, not the actual
data.
-
SAS views can ensure that the input
data sets are always current because data is derived from SAS views
at execution time.
-
Since SAS views can select data
from many sources, once a SAS view is created, it can provide prepackaged
information to the information community without the need for additional
programming.
-
SAS views can reduce the impact
of data design changes on users. For example, you can change a query
that is stored in a SAS view without changing the characteristics
of the view's result.
-
With
SAS/CONNECT software, a SAS
view can join SAS data sets that reside on different host computers,
presenting you with an integrated view of distributed company data.
The following figure shows native and interface SAS
views and their relationship to SAS data files:
You can use SAS views
in the following ways:
-
as input to other DATA steps or
PROC steps
-
to migrate data to SAS data files
or to database management systems that are supported by SAS
-
in combination with other data
sources using PROC SQL
-
as pre-assembled sets of data for
users of
SAS/ASSIST software, enabling them to perform data management,
analysis, and reporting tasks regardless of how the data is stored
