Using an SQL procedure to join two database management system (DBMS) tables via the LIBNAME engine might result in a performance issue or a discrepancy in the results. The problem arises if the query contains ANSI INNER JOIN syntax and a correlated subquery.

This problem occurs when the query is incorrectly converted from SAS syntax to the DBMS syntax. The incorrect syntax causes DBMS to return an error. As a result of the error, SAS retrieves the rows in the DBMS tables and processes the query within SAS. Processing the query in SAS might take longer than if the query had been processed by the DBMS. Processing the query in SAS might also result in a difference in results if the key variable contains nulls, because SAS and DBMS treat nulls and missing data differently.

To work around this issue, do one of the following:

• Use explicit pass-through.
• Or switch to using a comma between the tables and moving the ON condition(s) to the existing WHERE clause.

Click the Hot Fix tab in this note to access the hot fix for this issue.

Operating System and Release Information

A fix for this issue for Base SAS 9.3_M1 is available at: