Glossary: Glossary

Glossary

access descriptor: a SAS/ACCESS file that describes data that is managed by SAS, by a database management system, or by a PC-based software application such as Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, or dBASE. After creating an access descriptor, you can use it as the basis for creating one or more view descriptors. See also SAS/ACCESS view and view descriptor.
access method: See communications access method.
architectural compatibility: a characteristic shared by two or more operating environments that use identical internal representations for storing numeric data, character data, or both. Compatible operating environments use the same standards or conventions for storing floating-point numbers (IEEE or IBM 390); for character encoding (ASCII or EBCDIC); for the ordering of bytes in memory (big Endian or little Endian); for word alignment (4-byte boundaries or 8-byte boundaries); and for data-type length (16- bit, 32-bit, or 64- bit).
architecture: the manner in which numeric data and character data are represented internally in a particular operating environment. See also architectural compatibility.
authentication: the process of verifying the identity of a person or process within the guidelines of a specific security policy.
batch mode: a method of executing SAS programs in which a file that contains SAS statements plus any necessary operating environment commands is submitted to the computer's batch queue. After you submit the program, control returns to your computer, and you can perform other tasks. Batch mode is sometimes referred to as running in the background. The program output can be written to files or printed on an output device.
buffer: See transfer buffer.
catalog entry: See SAS catalog entry.
client: a SAS session that receives services, data, or other resources from a specified server. The server can run on the same computer as the client or on a different computer (across a network). See also server, SAS/CONNECT server, SAS/CONNECT client, SAS/SHARE client, and SAS/SHARE server.
communications access method: an interface between SAS and the network protocol or interface that is used to connect two operating environments. Depending on the operating environments, SAS/SHARE and SAS/CONNECT use either the TCP/IP or XMS communications access method. See also TCP/IP and Cross-Memory Services.
concurrent: pertaining to the simultaneous use of resources by multiple users or applications.
control level: one of the determinants in the kind of lock that a task obtains on a SAS data set or on an observation in the data set. The control level specifies how other SAS tasks can access the SAS data set concurrently. Every SAS task has an open mode (input, output, or update) and a default control level (either member-level control or observation-level control) for each SAS data set that it accesses, based on how the task operates on that data set. See also open mode and locking.
Cross-Memory Services: a cross-task communication interface that is part of z/OS. XMS is used by programs that run within a single z/OS operating environment. XMS is also the name of the SAS communications access method that uses XMS for client/server communication. Short form: XMS.
DATA step view: a type of SAS data set that consists of a stored DATA step program. A DATA step view contains a definition of data that is stored elsewhere; the view does not contain the physical data. The view's input data can come from one or more sources, including external files and other SAS data sets. Because a DATA step view only reads (opens for input) other files, you cannot update the view's underlying data.
data value: a unit of character or numeric information in a SAS data set. A data value represents one variable in an observation. For example, the variable LASTNAME might contain the data value Smith.
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. See also relational database management system.
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. See also relational database management system.
DBMS: See database management system.
encryption: the act of transforming intelligible data (plaintext) into an unintelligible form (ciphertext) by means of a mathematical process.
engine: a component of SAS software that reads from or writes to a file. Each engine enables SAS to access files that are in a particular file format. There are several types of engines. See also interface view engine, library engine, and REMOTE engine.
entry type: a characteristic of a SAS catalog entry that identifies the catalog entry's structure and attributes to SAS. When you create a SAS catalog entry, SAS automatically assigns the entry type as part of the name. See also SAS catalog entry.
external file: a file that is created and maintained by a host operating system or by another vendor's software application. SAS can read data from and route output to external files. External files can contain raw data, SAS programming statements, procedure output, or output that was created by the PUT statement. A SAS data set is not an external file. See also fileref (file reference).
fileref: a name that is temporarily assigned to an external file or to an aggregate storage location such as a directory or a folder. The fileref identifies the file or the storage location to SAS. See also libref.
incompatible operating environments: See architectural compatibility.
index: a component of a SAS data set that enables SAS to access observations in the SAS data set quickly and efficiently. The purpose of SAS indexes is to optimize WHERE-clause processing and to facilitate BY-group processing.
interactive line mode: a method of running SAS programs in which you enter one line of a SAS program at a time at the SAS session prompt. SAS processes each line immediately after you press the ENTER or RETURN key. Procedure output and informative messages are returned directly to your display device.
interface view engine: a SAS engine that retrieves data directly from files that have been formatted by another vendor's software and which presents the data to SAS in the form of a SAS data set. Interface view engines are transparent to users and are not specified in LIBNAME statements. See also engine.
Internet Protocol Version 4: a protocol that specifies the format for network addresses for all computers that are connected to the Internet. This protocol, which is the predecessor of Internet Protocol Version 6, uses dot-decimal notation to represent 32-bit address spaces. An example of an Internet Protocol Version 4 address is 10.23.2.3. Short form: IPv4. See also IP address and Internet Protocol Version 6.
Internet Protocol Version 6: a protocol that specifies the format for network addresses for all computers that are connected to the Internet. This protocol, which is the successor of Internet Protocol Version 4, uses hexadecimal notation to represent 128-bit address spaces. The format can consist of up to eight groups of four hexadecimal characters, delimited by colons, as in FE80:0000:0000:0000:0202:B3FF:FE1E:8329. As an alternative, a group of consecutive zeros could be replaced with two colons, as in FE80::0202:B3FF:FE1E:8329. Short form: IPv6. See also IP address and Internet Protocol Version 4.
IP address: a unique network address that is assigned to each computer that is connected to the Internet. The IP address can be specified in either of two formats: Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) or Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). The IPv4 format consists of four parts in dot-decimal notation, as in 123.456.789.0. The IPv6 format can consist of up to eight groups of four hexadecimal characters, delimited by colons, as in FE80:0000:0000:0000:0202:B3FF:FE1E:8329. See also Internet Protocol Version 4 and Internet Protocol Version 6.
IPv4: See Internet Protocol Version 4.
IPv6: See Internet Protocol Version 6.
library engine: an engine that accesses groups of files and puts them in the correct form for processing by SAS utility windows and procedures. A library engine also determines the fundamental processing characteristics of the library, presents lists of files for the library directory, and supports view engines. See also engine, REMOTE engine, and view engine.
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.
locking: a technique for preventing conflicts among requests from different SAS tasks. A task obtains a lock on a member (for example, a SAS data set) or record (observation) based on the open mode and control level for that SAS data set. In SAS/SHARE software, you can lock a SAS library, data set, catalog, or catalog entry by using the LOCK statement or the LOCK command. See also control level and open mode.
member: a SAS file in a SAS library.
member name: a name that is assigned to a SAS file in a SAS library. See also member type.
member type: a SAS name that identifies the type of information that is stored in a SAS file. Member types include ACCESS, AUDIT, DMBD, DATA, CATALOG, FDB, INDEX, ITEMSTOR, MDDB, PROGRAM, UTILITY, and VIEW.
noninteractive mode: a method of running SAS programs in which you prepare a file of SAS statements and submit the program to the operating system. The program runs immediately and comprises your current session.
observation: a row in a SAS data set. All of the data values in an observation are associated with a single entity such as a customer or a state. Each observation contains either one data value or a missing-value indicator for each variable.
open mode: the way in which a SAS task accesses and operates on a member in a SAS library. There are three open modes for SAS files: input, update, and output. See also control level and locking.
operating environment: a computer, or a logical partition of a computer, and the resources (such as an operating system and other software and hardware) that are available to the computer or partition.
port: in a network, a communications endpoint that is specified by a unique number and a service name. The port number and the associated service name are configured in a services file (/etc/services on UNIX). A port enables a SAS client to access a SAS/CONNECT spawner, an MP CONNECT pipe, a SAS/SHARE server, or a firewall server. See also SASESOCK engine, pipeline parallelism, firewall, SAS/SHARE server, and services file.
PROC SQL view: a SAS data set that is created by the SQL procedure. A PROC SQL view contains no data. Instead, it stores information that enables it to read data values from other files, which can include SAS data files, SAS/ACCESS views, DATA step views, or other PROC SQL views. The output of a PROC SQL view can be either a subset or a superset of one or more files. See also SAS data view.
quiesce: (1) to gradually cause an active server or server library to become inactive by disallowing new requests to use the resource. (2) to move a user from an active status to a stopped status. When a quiesced user closes all files in a server library, the server releases that user's access to the library. If the user has no open files in an accessed server library, the server terminates that user's access to the library immediately.
relational database management system: a database management system that organizes and accesses data according to relationships between data items. The main characteristic of a relational database management system is the two-dimensional table. Examples of relational database management systems are DB2, Oracle, SYBASE, and Microsoft SQL Server.
REMOTE engine: a SAS library engine for SAS/SHARE software. Using the REMOTE engine enables a client SAS session to access shared data by communicating with a SAS/SHARE server. See also SAS/SHARE server.
Remote Library Services: a feature of SAS/SHARE and SAS/CONNECT software that enables you to read, write, and update remote data as if it were stored on the client. RLS can be used to access SAS data sets on computers that have different architectures. RLS also provides read-only access to some types of SAS catalog entries on computers that have different architectures. Short form: RLS. See also architecture.
RLS: See Remote Library Services.
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. See also SAS catalog entry.
SAS catalog entry: a separate storage unit within a SAS catalog. Each entry has an entry type that identifies its purpose to SAS. Some catalog entries contain system information such as key definitions. Other catalog entries contain application information such as window definitions, Help windows, SAS formats and informats, macros, or graphics output. See also entry type.
SAS console log: a file that contains information, warning, and error messages if the SAS log is not active. The SAS console log is normally used only for fatal system initialization errors or for late-termination messages. See also SAS log.
SAS data file: a type of SAS data set that contains data values as well as descriptor information that is associated with the data. The descriptor information includes information such as the data types and lengths of the variables, as well as the name of the engine that was used to create the data. See also SAS data set and SAS data view.
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 whose contents are in other software vendors' file formats. See also descriptor information.
SAS data view: a type of SAS data set that retrieves data values from other files. A SAS data view contains only descriptor information such as the data types and lengths of the variables (columns), 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 data views can be created by the SAS DATA step and by the SAS SQL procedure. See also SAS data set, SAS/ACCESS view, DATA step view, and PROC SQL view.
SAS library: a collection of one or more files that are recognized by SAS and that are referenced and stored as a unit. Each file is a member of the library.
SAS log: a file that contains a record of the SAS statements that you enter, as well as messages about the execution of your program. See also SAS console log.
SAS Management Console: a Java application that provides a single user interface for performing SAS administrative tasks.
SAS Metadata Repository: a repository that is used by the SAS Metadata Server to store and retrieve metadata. See also SAS Metadata Server.
SAS Metadata Server: a multi-user server that enables users to read metadata from or write metadata to one or more SAS Metadata Repositories.
SAS system option: an option that affects the processing of an entire SAS program or interactive SAS session from the time the option is specified until it is changed. Examples of items that are controlled by SAS system options include the appearance of SAS output, the handling of some files that are used by SAS, the use of system variables, the processing of observations in SAS data sets, features of SAS initialization, and the way SAS interacts with your host operating environment.
SAS task: a logical process that is executed by a SAS session. A task can be a procedure, a DATA step, a window, or a supervisor process.
SAS windowing environment: an interactive windowing interface to SAS software. In this environment you can issue commands by typing them on the command line, by pressing function keys, or by selecting items from menus or menu bars. Within one session, you can perform many different tasks, including preparing and submitting programs, viewing and printing results, and debugging and resubmitting programs.
SAS/ACCESS view: a type of file that retrieves data values from files that are stored in other software vendors' file formats. You use the ACCESS procedure of SAS/ACCESS software to create SAS/ACCESS views. See also view descriptor.
SAS/CONNECT client: a SAS/CONNECT session that acts as a client. The user that runs a SAS/CONNECT client requests services from a SAS/CONNECT server that can run on a remote single-processor machine or on a local or remote multi-processor machine. The following services are supported: Remote Library Services, which enables access to SAS files; Compute Services, which uses fast processing resources; and Data Transfer Services, which enables the upload or download of selected data for processing. See also client, server, and SAS/CONNECT server.
SAS/CONNECT server: a SAS/CONNECT session that acts as a server. The SAS/CONNECT server runs a SAS session on a computer that receives requests for services from a SAS/CONNECT client. The server can run on a remote, single-processor computer or on a local or remote SMP computer. SAS/CONNECT servers provide Remote Library Services (for accessing SAS files), Compute Services (for rapid computational processing), and Data Transfer Services (for uploading and downloading selected data). See also client, server, SAS/CONNECT client, and symmetric multiprocessing.
SAS/SECURE: an add-on product that uses the RC2, RC4, DES, and TripleDES encryption algorithms. SAS/SECURE requires a license, and it must be installed on each computer that runs a client and a server that will use the encryption algorithms. SAS/SECURE provides a high level of security.
SAS/SHARE client: a SAS/SHARE session that acts as a client. The user who runs a SAS/SHARE client accesses data on a SAS/SHARE server through Remote Library Services (RLS). See also client, server, SAS/SHARE server, and Remote Library Services.
SAS/SHARE server: the result of an execution of the SERVER procedure. The SERVER procedure 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 data libraries. See also client, server, and SAS/SHARE client.
SAS/SHARE server library: a SAS library that has been defined to a SAS/SHARE server. The SAS/SHARE server controls access to the library.
SASProprietary algorithm: a fixed encoding algorithm that is included with Base SAS software. The SASProprietary algorithm requires no additional SAS product licenses. It provides a medium level of security.
server: a SAS session that delivers services, data, or other resources to a requesting client. The server can run on the same computer as the client or on a different computer (across a network). See also SAS/CONNECT server, SAS/SHARE server, SAS/CONNECT client, SAS/SHARE client, and server.
server library: See SAS/SHARE server library.
server session: See server, SAS/CONNECT server, SAS/SHARE server.
services file: a file that contains a list of service names and the TCP/IP ports that are mapped to those services. The services file is stored on both the SAS client and the SAS server. The UNIX services file is located in /etc/services. A service can be specified for any of the following: a SAS/CONNECT spawner, a SAS/SHARE server, an MP CONNECT pipe, and a firewall server. See also port, SASESOCK engine, pipeline parallelism, firewall, and SAS/SHARE server.
SMP: See symmetric multiprocessing.
Structured Query Language: a standardized, high-level query language that is used in relational database management systems to create and manipulate objects in a database management system. SAS implements SQL through the SQL procedure. Short form: SQL.
SQL: See Structured Query Language.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): a protocol that provides network security and privacy. SSL uses encryption algorithms RC2, RC4, DES, TripleDES, and AES. SSL provides a high level of security. It was developed by Netscape Communications.
SQL: See Structured Query Language.
symmetric multiprocessing: a hardware and software architecture that can improve the speed of I/O and processing. An SMP machine has multiple CPUs and a thread-enabled operating system. An SMP machine is usually configured with multiple controllers and with multiple disk drives per controller. Short form: SMP.
system option: See SAS system option.
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.
thin client: an application that is deployed across a network, thereby reducing the need for disk space on client machines. Thin-client development tools reduce the cost of deploying and maintaining applications. Costs are lower because thin-client applications need to be updated only on the server. Otherwise, multiple user machines that perhaps run multiple operating systems would have to be updated.
threaded processing: processing that is performed in multiple threads in order to improve the speed of CPU-bound applications. See also symmetric multiprocessing.
TLS: See Transport Layer Security.
transfer buffer: a temporary holding area in computer memory that is used when data is transferred between clients and servers across a network.
Transport Layer Security: the successor to Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) V3.0. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) adopted SSL V3.0 as the de facto standard, made some modifications, and renamed it TLS. TLS is virtually SSLV3.1. Short form: TLS. See also Secure Sockets Layer.
view: a generic term (used by many software vendors) for a definition of a virtual data set (or table). The definition is named and stored for later use. A view contains no data; it merely describes or defines data that is stored elsewhere. See also SAS data view.
view descriptor: a SAS/ACCESS file that defines part or all of the DBMS data that is described by an access descriptor. See also access descriptor.
work task: a SAS/SHARE server resource that consists of a pair of lightweight threads that service requests from SAS/SHARE clients. More work tasks enable the SAS/SHARE server to service more asynchronous requests. See also threaded processing.
XMS: See Cross-Memory Services.

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