Glossary

Active Server Pages (ASP)

an application environment that enables you to use HTML pages, scripts, and ActiveX server components to create Web applications.

ActiveX Data Objects

a simplified programming interface to OLE DB. Both ADO and OLE DB have been developed by Microsoft. Short form: ADO. See also OLE DB, consumer, and data provider.

ActiveX Data Objects (Multidimensional)

an extension to the ADO programming interface that enables users to read multidimensional schema, to query cubes, and to retrieve the results. ADO MD accesses data through a multidimensional data provider such as the IOM Data Provider. ADO MD has been developed by Microsoft. See also OLE DB, data provider, ActiveX Data Objects, and multidimensional database.

ActiveX Data Objects Extension for Data Definition Language and Security

an extension to the ADO programming interface that enables users to create, modify, and delete database objects such as tables. This extension, which is commonly referred to as ADOX, can also be used to manage user permissions and group permissions on database objects. Short form: ADOX. See also ActiveX Data Objects, OLE DB, and data provider.

ADO

See ActiveX Data Objects.

ADOX

See ActiveX Data Objects Extension for Data Definition Language and Security.

API

See application programming interface.

application programming interface

a set of software functions that facilitate communication between applications and other kinds of programs or services. Short form: API.

authentication domain

a SAS internal category that pairs logins with the servers for which they are valid. For example, an Oracle server and the SAS copies of Oracle credentials might all be classified as belonging to an OracleAuth authentication domain.

bit mask

a string of bits that has a specific pattern of binary 0s and 1s that you use to compare with other values.

buffer

a portion of computer memory that is used for special holding purposes or processes. For example, a buffer might simply store information before sending that information to main memory for processing, or it might hold data after the data is read or before the data is written.

COM

See Component Object Model.

Component Object Model

an object-oriented programming model that defines how software components interact within a single process or between processes. For example, COM includes standard rules of communication that enable a user-interface object to be dragged and dropped from one application window to another. Short form: COM.

consumer

an application that uses the ADO or OLE DB specification to request functionality or data from a data provider through OLE DB interfaces. A typical ADO consumer might submit a query to a data provider and then display the results of that query. See also ActiveX Data Objects, OLE DB, and data provider.

cube

a set of data that is organized and structured in a hierarchical, multidimensional arrangement. A cube includes measures, and it can have numerous dimensions and levels of data.

data provider

software that makes data available through the OLE DB interfaces to a consumer such as an ADO application. See also ActiveX Data Objects and consumer.

database management system

a software application that enables you to create and manipulate data that is stored in the form of databases. Short form: DBMS.

DBMS

See database management system.

DNS name

a name that is meaningful to people and that corresponds to the numeric TCP/IP address of a computer on the Internet. For example, www.alphaliteairways.com might be the DNS name for an Alphalite Airways Web server whose TCP/IP address is 192.168.145.6.

fatal error

an error that causes a program to end abnormally or that prevents the program from starting.

format

a pattern or set of instructions that SAS uses to determine how the values of a variable (or column) should be written or displayed. SAS provides a set of standard formats and also enables you to define your own formats.

informat

a pattern or set of instructions that SAS uses to determine how data values in an input file should be interpreted. SAS provides a set of standard informats and also enables you to define your own informats.

Integrated Object Model

a set of object-based interfaces to features or services that are provided by Base SAS software. IOM enables application developers to use industry-standard programming languages, programming tools, and communication protocols to develop client programs that access these services on IOM servers. Short form: IOM.

Integrated Object Model server

a SAS object server that is launched in order to fulfill client requests for IOM services. Short form: IOM server.

IOM

See Integrated Object Model.

IOM server

See Integrated Object Model server.

libref

a name that is temporarily associated with a SAS library. The complete name of a SAS file consists of two words, separated by a period. The libref, which is the first word, indicates the library. The second word is the name of the specific SAS file. For example, in VLIB.NEWBDAY, the libref VLIB tells SAS which library contains the file NEWBDAY. You assign a libref with a LIBNAME statement or with an operating system command.

macro

a SAS catalog entry that contains a group of compiled program statements and stored text.

MDX language

See multidimensional expressions language.

member-level access

a type of access to a SAS library that permits only one user to use a member (such as a SAS data set) at a time. See also record-level access.

member-level locking

a method of restricting access to a library member by providing exclusive access to the user who owns the lock. See also record-level locking.

metadata

a description or definition of data or information.

multidimensional database

another term for cube. Short form: MDDB. See also cube.

multidimensional expressions language

a standardized, high-level language that is used for querying multidimensional data sources. The MDX language is the multidimensional equivalent of SQL (Structured Query Language). It is used by the OLE DB for OLAP API. Short form: MDX language.

Object Linking and Embedding

a method of interprocess communication supported by Windows that involves a client/server architecture. OLE enables an object that was created by one application to be embedded in or linked to another application. Short form: OLE.

ODBC

See Open Database Connectivity.

ODBO

See OLE DB for OLAP.

OLAP

See online analytical processing.

OLE

See Object Linking and Embedding.

OLE DB

an open specification that has been developed by Microsoft for accessing both relational and nonrelational data. OLE DB interfaces can provide much of the same functionality that is provided by database management systems. OLE DB evolved from the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) application programming interface. See also Object Linking and Embedding and ActiveX Data Objects.

OLE DB for OLAP

an extension to OLE DB that enables users to access multidimensional databases in addition to relational databases. Short form: ODBO. See also OLE DB and online analytical processing.

online analytical processing

a software technology that enables users to dynamically analyze data that is stored in cubes. Short form: OLAP.

Open Database Connectivity

an interface standard that provides a common application programming interface (API) for accessing data. Many software products that run in the Windows operating environment adhere to this standard so that you can access data that was created using other software products. Short form: ODBC.

padding a value with blanks

in SAS software, a process in which the software adds blanks to the end of a character value that is shorter than the length of the variable.

persisted information

information such as formatting that remains associated with a data source element such as a column even after the program that created or accessed the data has been terminated. Persisted information can be retrieved programmatically at any time.

random access

in the SAS data model, a pattern of access by which SAS processes observations according to the value of some indicator variable without processing all observations sequentially.

record-level access

a type of access to a SAS data set or other file that permits more than one user to access the SAS data set or file at a time. Only one user can use a single observation or record of the file at a time, but other users can access other observations or records in the same file. See also member-level access.

record-level locking

locking at the record (observation) level. Record-level locking provides the user who owns the lock with exclusive access to a single record in a data set. Other users are able to access other records that are in the same data set. See also member-level locking.

recordset

an ADO object that contains tabular (rows and columns) data. A recordset can be returned as a result of a query or an executed command. See also ActiveX Data Objects.

result set

the set of rows or records that a server or other application returns in response to a query.

SAS catalog

a SAS file that stores many different kinds of information in smaller units called catalog entries. A single SAS catalog can contain several different types of catalog entries.

SAS data set

a file whose contents are in one of the native SAS file formats. There are two types of SAS data sets: SAS data files and SAS data views. SAS data files contain data values in addition to descriptor information that is associated with the data. SAS data views contain only the descriptor information plus other information that is required for retrieving data values from other SAS data sets or from files that are stored in other software vendors' file formats.

SAS Metadata Server

a multi-user server that enables users to read metadata from or write metadata to one or more SAS Metadata Repositories. The SAS Metadata Server uses the Integrated Object Model (IOM), which is provided with SAS Integration Technologies, to communicate with clients and with other servers.

SAS Open Metadata Architecture

a general-purpose metadata management facility that provides metadata services to SAS applications. The SAS Open Metadata Architecture enables applications to exchange metadata, which makes it easier for these applications to work together.

SAS procedure

a program that is accessed with a PROC statement. SAS procedures can be used to produce reports, manage files, or analyze data. Many procedures are included with the Base SAS software.

SAS session

the activity between invoking and exiting a specific SAS software product.

SAS Workspace Server

a SAS IOM server that is launched in order to fulfill client requests for IOM workspaces. See also IOM server and workspace.

SAS/ACCESS software

a group of software interfaces, each of which makes data from a particular external database management system (DBMS) directly available to SAS, as well as making SAS data directly available to the DBMS.

SAS/SHARE server

the result of an execution of the SERVER procedure, which is part of SAS/SHARE software. A server runs in a separate SAS session that services users' SAS sessions by controlling and executing input and output requests to one or more SAS libraries.

Sashelp library

a SAS library supplied by SAS software that stores the text for Help windows, default function-key definitions and window definitions, and menus.

SASROOT

a term that represents the name of the directory or folder in which SAS is installed at your site or on your computer.

sasroot

a term that represents the name of the directory or folder in which SAS is installed at your site or on your computer.

Sasuser library

a default, permanent SAS library that is created at the beginning of your first SAS session. The Sasuser library contains a Profile catalog that stores the customized features or settings that you specify for SAS. You can also store other SAS files in this library.

sequential access

a method of file access in which the records are read or written one after the other from the beginning of the file to the end.

TCP/IP

an abbreviation for a pair of networking protocols. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a standard protocol for transferring information on local area networks such as Ethernets. TCP ensures that process-to-process information is delivered in the appropriate order. Internet Protocol (IP) is a protocol for managing connections between operating environments. IP routes information through the network to a particular operating environment and fragments and reassembles information in transfers.

transport file

a sequential file that contains a SAS library, a SAS catalog, or a SAS data set in transport format, as produced by the CPORT procedure or as written by the XPORT engine or the Version 5 XCOPY or COPY procedures. The format of the transport file that is produced by the CPORT procedure is different from the format of the transport file that is written by the XPORT engine or by the Version 5 COPY or XCOPY procedures. You can use transport files to move SAS libraries, SAS catalogs, and SAS data sets from one operating system or host to another.

WHERE clause

one or more WHERE expressions used in a WHERE statement, a WHERE function, or a WHERE= data set option. See also WHERE expression.

WHERE expression

a type of SAS expression that specifies a criterion or search condition. Observations that meet that criterion are selected for processing.

Work library

a temporary SAS library that is automatically defined by SAS at the beginning of each SAS session or SAS job. Unless you have specified a User library, any newly created SAS file that has a one- level name will be placed in the Work library by default and will be deleted at the end of the current SAS session or job.

workspace

in the IOM object hierarchy for a SAS Workspace Server, an object that represents a single session in SAS. See also Integrated Object Model.