Base SAS

Importing Concatenated XML Documents

For a file that is a concatenation of multiple XML documents, you can now use the XML engine to import the file by specifying the LIBNAME statement option XMLCONCATENATE=YES. Importing concatenated XML documents is useful, for example, if an application is producing a complete document per query/response as in a Web form.

Use XMLCONCATENATE=YES cautiously. If an XML document consists of concatenated XML documents, the content is not standard XML construction. The intent of the option is to provide convenience, not to encourage invalid XML format.

This example imports the following file named ConcatStudents.XML, which consists of two XML documents:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<LIBRARY>
   <STUDENTS>
      <ID>1345</ID>
      <NAME>Linda Kay</NAME>
      <SCHOOL>Bellaire</SCHOOL>
      <CITY>Houston</CITY>
   </STUDENTS>
   <STUDENTS>
      <ID>2456</ID>
      <NAME>Chas Wofford</NAME>
      <SCHOOL>Sam Houston</SCHOOL>
      <CITY>Houston</CITY>
   </STUDENTS>
   <STUDENTS>
      <ID>3567</ID>
      <NAME>Jerry Kolar</NAME>
      <SCHOOL>Sharpstown</SCHOOL>
      <CITY>Houston</CITY>
   </STUDENTS>
</LIBRARY>

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<LIBRARY>
   <STUDENTS>
      <ID>1234</ID>
      <NAME>Brad Martin</NAME>
      <SCHOOL>Reagan</SCHOOL>
      <CITY>Austin</CITY>
   </STUDENTS>
   <STUDENTS>
      <ID>2345</ID>
      <NAME>Zac Harvell</NAME>
      <SCHOOL>Westwood</SCHOOL>
      <CITY>Austin</CITY>
   </STUDENTS>
   <STUDENTS>
      <ID>3456</ID>
      <NAME>Walter Smith</NAME>
      <SCHOOL>Bowie</SCHOOL>
      <CITY>Austin</CITY>
   </STUDENTS>
</LIBRARY>

Default Behavior Does not Support Concatenated XML Documents

The default XML engine behavior does not support concatenated XML documents. (The default is XMLCONCATENATE=NO.) Therefore, the following SAS program imports the first XML document, which consists of three observations, then produces an error for the second XML document:

   libname concat xml '/u/My Documents/xml/ConcatStudents.xml';

   proc datasets library=concat;

SAS Log Output

NOTE: Libref CONCAT was successfully assigned as follows:
      Engine:        XML
      Physical Name: /u/My Documents/xml/ConcatStudents.xml
20   proc datasets library=concat;
ERROR: "xml" is illegal as a processing-instruction target name.
       encountered during XMLMap parsing
       occurred at or near line 23, column 7

                                            Directory

       Libref         CONCAT
       Engine         XML
       Physical Name  /u/My Documents/xml/ConcatStudents.xml
       XMLType        GENERIC
       XMLMap         NO XMLMAP IN EFFECT


                                                    Member
                                       #  Name      Type

                                       1  STUDENTS  DATA

XMLCONCATENATE=YES Imports Concatenated XML Documents

Specifying the LIBNAME statement option XMCONCATENATE=YES enables the XML engine to import the concatenated XML documents as one SAS data set:

   libname concat xml '/u/My Documents/xml/ConcatStudents.xml' xmlconcatenate=yes;

   proc print data=concat.students;
   run;

PROC PRINT Output

                  The SAS System                                  1

     Obs    CITY       SCHOOL         NAME                  ID

       1    Houston    Bellaire       Linda Kay           1345
       2    Houston    Sam Houston    Chas Wofford        2456
       3    Houston    Sharpstown     Jerry Kolar         3567
       4    Austin     Reagan         Brad Martin         1234
       5    Austin     Westwood       Zac Harvell         2345
       6    Austin     Bowie          Walter Smith        3456

FOCUS AREAS

Base SAS

Importing Concatenated XML Documents

Default Behavior Does not Support Concatenated XML Documents

XMLCONCATENATE=YES Imports Concatenated XML Documents