Getting Data and Files into and Out of Stored Processes

A stored process can accept input in the form of an input file. An input file is a SAS fileref that is set up before the stored process begins execution. The fileref can point to a local file on the server, a stream fed by the client, a temporary file written by the client, or any other valid fileref that is set up by a stored process client.

Input files are identified by a unique fileref name and are defined in the stored process metadata. The metadata can provide descriptive information or hints to guide clients in the use of input files. Input files can be optional or required. Input files are not assigned if the client does simply corresponding input.

SAS programs frequently process input data sets. An input data set is defined by a macro variable that contains the data set name. Any setup required to access the data set (typically a libref assignment) is handled by the stored process framework.

The following code is an example of a stored process with an input data set named SALESDATA:

%stpbegin;
 
title "Sales for &MONTH, &YEAR";
proc print data=&SALESDATA
  where Month eq "&MONTH" and Year eq &YEAR
  var productid product sales salesgoal;
  run;
 
%stpend;

Different stored process client APIs provide different mechanisms for supplying input data sets to a stored process, including:

A stored process can create output in the form of an output file. An output file is a SAS fileref that is set up before the stored process begins execution. The fileref can point to a local file to be created on the server, a stream consumed by the client, a temporary file that is read by the client after execution is complete, or any other valid fileref that is set up by a stored process client.

Output files are identified by a unique fileref name and are defined in the stored process metadata. The metadata can provide descriptive information or hints to guide clients in the use of output files. Output files can be optional or required. Optional output files are not assigned if the client does not request the output.

The _WEBOUT fileref is frequently used for streaming output from a stored process. The client API can assign the _WEBOUT fileref to a server local file, a temporary file, or any other valid fileref. In the streaming output use case, _WEBOUT is assigned to a stream using the CACHE access method. Then ODS is configured to write to _WEBOUT, and a handle to the _WEBOUT stream is returned to the client Web application. The client Web application can read output from the stream as it is written by the stored process.

Stored processes support the generation of output data sets. An output data set is defined by a macro variable that contains the data set name. Any setup required to access the data set (typically a libref assignment) is handled by the stored process framework.

The following code is an example of a stored process that generates an output data set named SCORING:

%stpbegin;
 
data &SCORING;
  set MYLIB.RAWDATA;
  score = /* insert scoring algorithm based on input parameters here */;
  run;
 
%stpend;

Different stored process client APIs provide different mechanisms for accessing output data sets, including: