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SAS®9 Compatibility

Migration

Compatibility of SAS File Features

This information is important only if you need compatibility between different versions of SAS, such as the following situations:

For more information about new SAS®9 features, see the Base Focus Area's SAS®9 Resources page and the "What's New" topics in SAS®9 online documentation.

Best practice

Several language elements provide control over compatibility issues. See Best Practices for Compatibility. See also the SAS online documentation for any obscure behavioral differences in SAS®9 that we might have missed here.

SAS®9 File Features Not Supported for Version 7 or 8

These features are not supported for files not migrated to SAS®9 format or for SAS®9 files used in a previous release.

SAS®9 File Features Not Supported for Version 6

These features are not supported for Version 6 files not migrated to SAS®9 format or for SAS®9 files regressed to the Version 6 format.

Processing SAS®9 Files in a Version 7 or 8 Session

In a Version 7 or 8 session, you can use a SAS®9 data set or catalog (but not a DATA step view or SAS/ACCESS view) if it does not contain any of the unsupported features. For a 64-bit data set with greater than 2 billion observations, see an item at the topic about 64-bit migration issues. Another choice is regressing the file to the data representation of the target SAS 7 or 8 session; see Using a SAS®9 Data File under a Previous Version of SAS.

Processing SAS®9 Files in a Version 6 Session

SAS®9 files are not usable in Version 6. Instead, from SAS®9 session, you can use one of several methods for regressing files to Version 6 format. For more information and instructions, see Using a SAS®9 Data File under a Previous Version of SAS.