What is a Metadata-Bound Library?

A metadata-bound library is a physical library that is tied to a corresponding metadata object. The CREATE statement of the AUTHLIB procedure generates a new metadata object and binds the physical library to that object.
Each physical table within a metadata-bound library has information in its header that points to a specific metadata object (a secured table object). The pointer creates a security binding between the physical table and the metadata object. The binding ensures that SAS universally enforces metadata-layer permission requirements for the physical table—regardless of how a user requests access from SAS.
Access from SAS to data within a metadata-bound library is provided only if all of the following conditions are met:
  • The requesting user can connect to the metadata server in which the corresponding object is stored.
  • The requesting user’s metadata identity has all required metadata-layer effective permissions for the requested action.
  • The host identity with which the data is retrieved has all required host-layer access to the data.