SAS BI Web Services

SAS BI Web Services enable client applications to obtain metadata about and execute SAS Stored Processes using the XML for Analysis (XMLA) Version 1.1 interface.

A Web service is an interface that enables communication between distributed applications. Web services provide cross-platform integration by enabling applications written in various programming languages to communicate using a standard Web-based protocol. This functionality makes it possible for businesses to bridge the gaps between different applications and systems.

SAS Integration Technologies includes two implementations of SAS BI Web Services: a Java implementation, which requires a servlet container, and an implementation that uses the .NET framework. These implementations use the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) communication protocol.

Two methods, Discover() and Execute(), are provided. The Discover method calls the SAS Metadata Server to obtain the requested metadata, and the Execute method calls the SAS Stored Process Server to invoke a stored process. Stored processes that are called by these methods must be registered on the SAS Metadata Server with XMLA Web Service as a keyword and Streaming as the output type. The output from a stored process that is called by a SAS BI Web Service is always an XML stream.

For detailed information about using SAS BI Web Services, including instructions for creating stored processes that Web services can access, refer to the SAS BI Web Services section of the SAS Integration Technologies: Developer's Guide.