What's New in SAS 9.3 Stored Processes

Overview

SAS 9.3 Stored Processes introduces several new features, including stored process reports, the STP procedure, enhancements to the SAS Stored Process Web Application and stored process metadata, as well as general enhancements.

Stored Process Reports

A stored process report is a new object type that contains stored process output that is cached. The output can be viewed without re-executing the stored process. Stored process reports can be defined in SAS Management Console.

PROC STP

PROC STP enables users to execute a stored process from a SAS program. PROC STP can be executed in an interactive, batch, or server SAS session and can even be executed by another stored process.

SAS Stored Process Web Application Enhancements

The following enhancements have been added to the SAS Stored Process Web Application:
  • Alerts can be suppressed if you run a stored process and include the _ACTION=NOALERT parameter.
  • The _WELCOME parameter can be used in a URL to forward the Web browser to a specified welcome page.
  • A search feature enables you to locate stored processes or stored process reports based on name, description, or keyword. The default search form is invoked with _ACTION=SEARCH.
  • The _ACTION=XML parameter can be combined with other _ACTION values to return XML data. For example, _ACTION=TREE,XML returns a stored processes tree list.
  • The _FORM parameter specifies the location of a custom input form JSP file to use when the stored process is run with _ACTION=FORM. The parameter can be entered on the URL or defined as a permanent parameter in the stored process.
  • The SAS Stored Process Web Application can be used to display, retrieve, and rerun stored process reports.
  • The _TYPE parameter can be used to limit tree and search functions to display only stored processes or only stored process reports. For example, to generate a stored process report tree from a URL, add the parameter _TYPE=REPORT to the URL as follows:
    http://xxx.yyy.com:8080/SASStoredProcess/do?_action=index&_type=report
  • The _TARGET URL parameter overrides the fixed form target value. You can use _TARGET=BLANK to always force a new window.
  • Any stored process or report marked as hidden in SAS Management Console does not show up in the tree or search results.

Metadata Enhancements

The following enhancements have been added to the Stored Process Properties dialog box and the New Stored Process wizard in SAS Management Console:
  • Helper stored processes can be hidden from the end user. You can specify this option on the General tab of the Stored Process Properties dialog box in SAS Management Console.
  • Stored processes can have a server context specified when they are registered, instead of a specific logical server. This means that a workspace server or stored process server is automatically chosen when the stored process is run, depending on what other parameters are specified for the stored process.
  • Stored process source code can be stored on the SAS Metadata Server, and the source code can be viewed, added, or modified when you view, register, or modify a stored process in SAS Management Console.
  • Data tables can be specified as data sources and data targets.
The New Stored Process Report wizard and Stored Process Report Properties dialog box have been added to SAS Management Console. The wizard and dialog box can be used to create and manage stored process reports.

General Enhancements

The following general enhancements have been added to SAS Stored Processes:
  • The SAS Workspace Server supports stored processes with streaming output, except stored processes that use sessions or replay (such as embedded images in streaming output).
  • The *ProcessBody comment is no longer needed for new stored processes that execute on the SAS Workspace Server.
  • Result packages can be published to Microsoft SharePoint.
  • Reserved global macro variables _ARCHIVE_PATH, _ARCHIVE_NAME, and _GENERATED_NAME have been added for publishing to WebDAV and Sharepoint. The _DEBUG_FILE reserved macro variable has been added for publishing to Sharepoint. Reserved global macro variables _FOLDER_PATH, _METAPASS, and _METAUSER have been added for publishing to subscribers.
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