What Is Transporting a SAS Data Set?

Transporting a SAS data set is the process of putting the file in a format in order to move it across hosts. The process consists of the following steps:

1. Export an XML document on the source host. The XML document contains the data and file attributes of one or more SAS data sets in XML markup. To export an XML document, use the LIBNAME statement and specify the XML engine, then use either the DATA step or COPY procedure.

2. Transfer the XML document to the target host. Transferring is the process of moving a file between hosts across a network. Various third-party products are available for performing this operation.

3. Translate the XML document to SAS proprietary format on the target host. To translate XML markup to SAS proprietary format, use the LIBNAME statement, specify the XML engine, then use either the DATA step or COPY procedure.

For more information about moving SAS files, see Moving and Accessing SAS Files.

Note:   The XML engine supports features starting with SAS 7, such as long data set and variable names. For moving SAS data sets across operating environments, the XML engine does not replace the XPORT transport engine; however, the XPORT engine does not support these features.  

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