Writing a Stored Process

Overview of Writing a Stored Process

A stored process is a SAS program that is hosted on a server and described by metadata. Stored processes can be written by anyone who is familiar with the SAS programming language or with the aid of a SAS code generator such as SAS Enterprise Guide. The basic steps for creating a stored process are as follows:

Write the stored process.
Choose or define a server. For more information, see Choosing or Defining a Server.
Register the stored process metadata. For more information, see Registering the Stored Process Metadata.

Almost any SAS program can be a stored process. A stored process can be written using the SAS program editor, SAS Enterprise Guide, or any text editor. The following program is a typical stored process:

 *ProcessBody;
 %STPBEGIN;
    title 'Age analysis by sex';
    footnote;
    proc sort data=sashelp.class out=class; by sex age; run;
    proc gchart data=class;
       vbar3d age / group=sex
          discrete
          nozero
          shape=cylinder
          patternid=group;
    run; quit;
    title;
    proc print data=class;
       by sex age;
       id sex age;
       var name height weight;
    run;
 %STPEND;

The program begins with a standard *ProcessBody; comment that initiates input parameter processing, if any. The %STPBEGIN and %STPEND macros initialize the Output Delivery System (ODS) and deliver the output to the client. This stored process is capable of generating multiple output formats, including HTML, XML, PDF, CSV, and custom tagsets and then delivering the output through packages or streaming output. For more information, see Setting Result Capabilities.

Note: Because the %STPBEGIN and %STPEND macros initialize the Output Delivery System (ODS), you should use them only if your stored process creates ODS output. They are not necessary if the stored process is creating only a table and does not create a report. Another case where they should not be used is when your stored process writes directly to the _WEBOUT fileref, either using the DATA step or some other method. Writing to _WEBOUT is a common technique used in SAS/IntrNet programs. [cautionend]

This sample code generates the following bar chart and table:

Stored Process Results: Bar Chart

[Bar Chart]

Stored Process Results: Table

[Table]

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