The Structure of SCL Programs

Introduction to SCL Program Structure

An SCL application consists of one or more SCL entries. These SCL entries can contain the following types of modules:

labeled sections
CLASS blocks
METHOD blocks
USECLASS blocks
INTERFACE blocks
macros.

For example, an SCL program may consist of only one labeled section, or it may contain two labeled sections, a METHOD block, and a couple of macros. A complex program may contain several CLASS, METHOD, USECLASS, and INTERFACE blocks.

Some types of modules can be stored together in one SCL entry, but others cannot. One SCL entry may contain any one of the following:

one or more labeled sections and/or one or more macros
one CLASS block, which may also contain one or more METHOD blocks
one INTERFACE block
one or more USECLASS blocks, each of which may contain one or more METHOD blocks
one or more METHOD blocks (that are not contained within a CLASS or USECLASS block).

In strictly object-oriented applications, METHOD blocks are contained within CLASS or USECLASS blocks. If your application is not a strictly object-oriented application, you can save METHOD blocks by themselves in SCL entries.

Object-oriented applications use CLASS, METHOD, USECLASS, and INTERFACE blocks extensively. For information about designing and implementing object-oriented applications see SAS Guide to Applications Development in addition to the information contained in this documentation.

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