Peaceful Coexistence: SAS®9 and SAS 8.2
It is possible to run SAS®9 on the same computer as SAS 8.2.
This topic lists all known issues, to help you avoid any conflicts.
In this topic, SAS®9 refers to
all SAS 9 releases including SAS 9.2. If you want to run two SAS 9 relases
on the same computer, see Peaceful Coexistence: SAS 9.2 and SAS 9.1.3.
Known Issues for Coexistence
- Data sets and other SAS files:
SAS strives wherever possible to support cross-release compatibility.
- Use the interactive Compatibility Calculator
(support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/files/calculator/)
to determine whether you can use your SAS 8.2 files in SAS®9 without migrating
them to SAS®9 format.
- If you use certain
SAS®9 file features
(support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/files/forward.html),
then those SAS®9 files are incompatible with SAS 8.2. The features are optional.
- If needed, you can run a SAS®9 file in a
compatible SAS 6, 7, or 8 session
or regress the file to the previous version
(support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/files/regression.html).
- It is recommended to not store SAS 8.2 files in the same library with SAS®9
files. The file format is virtually unchanged in SAS®9, so the file extension remains the same as in
SAS 8.2. This means you could accidentally overwrite an existing file with the same name that was created
under the other release. Read about this and other details involved in
maintaining files from different releases
(support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/files/mixed.html).
- If you make a copy of a data set to test the new release of SAS and
the data set is live (that is, continually updated), then you must either update
the two data sets concurrently or designate one data set to be frozen and later discarded.
- Syntax (PROCs, DATA steps, macros, and so forth):
You can use SAS or SCL code from SAS 8.2 in SAS®9 and vice versa. However,
some syntax has changed. Research the
known issues in
code compatibility (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/files/programs.html)
as well as changes and enhancements.
- Installation and configuration:
- If you are installing both SAS 8.2 and SAS®9, install
SAS 8.2 first. Otherwise, you might run into problems
with the shared files directory.
- Make sure SAS®9 doesn't use the same TCP/IP port numbers as SAS 8.2.
- Install SAS 8.2 and SAS®9 in separate locations on the machine.
- It is recommended that you use the SAS configuration file (sasv8.cfg or sasv9.cfg)
to separate the locations of SASWORK.
- Operating environment:
- Some SAS 8.2 operating environments
(support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/platform/sas9platforms.html)
are no longer supported in SAS®9.
- Updates made to an operating environment for SAS®9 system requirements
(support.sas.com/documentation/installcenter/)
might conflict with SAS 8.2, although this has not been reported.
- Running two versions of SAS on a machine might require additional disk space or CPU time.
- Invoking SAS:
Product-Specific Guidelines
SAS has developed coexistence guidelines for
selected products:
Any new information will be made available from this page.
If you encounter problems in your deployment, please
contact SAS Technical Support
(support.sas.com/ctx/supportform/index.jsp) for assistance.