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XML LIBNAME engine
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Base SAS
Using the SAS 9.1 XML LIBNAME Engine
This document highlights Release 9.1 enhancements for the SAS XML LIBNAME engine.
Contents
- Understanding the XML LIBNAME Engine in SAS 9
- What's New for the LIBNAME Statement?
- XMLMap Syntax Version 1.2
- Using ISO 8601 SAS Formats and Informats
- Where's the SAS 9.1 Documentation?
- Your Turn
Understanding the XML LIBNAME Engine in SAS®9
SAS 9.1 represents the latest release of SAS software. For the XML LIBNAME engine, which is provided with Base SAS, SAS 9.1 imports and exports a broader variety of XML documents.This document summarizes new and enhanced functionality in SAS 9.1. For a summary of the SAS 9.0 changes, see Using the SAS 9.0 XML LIBNAME Engine.
What's New for the LIBNAME Statement?
Here are examples and explanations of new options for the LIBNAME statement for the XML engine. Note that these enhancements are documented in the SAS XML LIBNAME Engine User's Guide.- See Using the SAS 9.1 XMLMap Tools
for information about the SAS 9.1 XML Mapper.
-
Two new options import XML documents
that do not conform to standard XML construction.
See
Importing Concatenated XML Documents
and
Importing an XML Document with Non-Escaped
Character Data.
However, use the XMLCONCATENATE= and XMLPROCESS=
options with caution. The intent of the options is to provide convenience,
not to encourage invalid XML format.
-
The option XMLFILEREF= specifies a fileref for the physical location
of an XML document. See
Specifying a Fileref.
-
The option XMLSCHEMA= specifies an external file to
contain separate metadata-related information. See
Exporting an XML Document with Separate Metadata.
- The new format type MSACCESS supports the markup standards for a Microsoft Access database. See Importing an XML Document Created by Microsoft Access.
XMLMap Syntax Version 1.2
The value of the DATATYPE element, which specifies the type of data being read from the XML document for the variable, is changed to conform directly to the XML schema datatypes specification. For example, earlier versions accepted <DATATYPE>DT-8601</DATATYPE> and now version 1.2 accepts <DATATYPE>dateTime</DATATYPE>.For version 1.2, the type of data specification can be
- string
-
specifies that the data contains alphanumeric characters and does
not contain numbers used for calculations.
- integer
-
specifies that the data contains whole numbers used for
calculations.
- double
-
specifies that the data contains floating-point numbers.
- dateTime
-
specifies that the input represents a valid datetime value.
- date
-
specifies that the input represents a valid date value.
- time
-
specifies that the input represents a valid time value.
Using ISO 8601 SAS Formats and Informats
Several ISO 8601 SAS formats and informats are available to support the international standard for the representation of dates and times. The standard defines a large number of alternative representations of dates, times, and time intervals. The representations can be either in a basic format that has a minimal number of characters or in an extended format that adds characters to enhance human readability. For example, January 3, 2003 can be represented as either20030103 (basic format) or
2003-01-03 (extended format).
The SAS XML LIBNAME engine supports ISO 8601 date and time representations with several SAS formats and SAS informats. Here are examples that illustrate using the new formats and informats:
Where's the SAS 9.1 Documentation?
The XML engine's usage and reference documentation is available in one stand-alone document: SAS XML LIBNAME Engine User's Guide.To locate the latest version of the documentation:
-
From SAS, on the menu bar, select Help, then
SAS Help and Documentation. From the Contents
tab, select the following:
- SAS Products
- Base SAS
- SAS XML LIBNAME Engine User's Guide.
- On the stand-alone CD or SAS OnlineDoc® 9.1 on the Web, under Base SAS, see SAS XML LIBNAME Engine User's Guide.
Your Turn
The developers, testers, and documenters that bring you the SAS XML LIBNAME engine are very interested in your feedback. You can send electronic mail to XMLEngine@sas.com with your comments.Last Updated: 24 May 2004
