SAS Macro Language 1: Essentials

Classroom duration: 2.0 days Live Web duration: 4 half-day sessions Please note the System Requirements below. Course fee: $1,150 EPTO units: 2.2 CEUs: 1.2

This course focuses on the components of the SAS macro facility and how to design, write, and debug macro systems. Emphasis is placed on understanding how programs with macro code are processed.

This course can help prepare you for the following certification exam(s): SAS Advanced Programming Exam for SAS 9.

Learn how to

perform text substitution in SAS code
automate and customize the production of SAS code
conditionally or iteratively construct SAS code
use macro variables and macro functions.

Who should attend

Experienced SAS programmers who have a sound understanding of DATA step processing and who want to write SAS programs that are reusable and dynamic

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Prerequisites

Before attending this course, you should have completed the SAS Programming 2: Data Manipulation Techniques course or have equivalent knowledge. Specifically, you should be able to

use a DATA step to read from or write to a SAS data set or external file
use DATA step programming statements such as IF-THEN/ELSE, DO WHILE, DO UNTIL, and iterative DO
use SAS data set options such as DROP=, KEEP=, and OBS=
use character functions such as SUBSTR, SCAN, INDEX, and UPCASE
form subsets of data using the WHERE clause
create and use SAS date values and constants
use SAS procedures such as SORT, PRINT, CONTENTS, MEANS, FREQ, TABULATE, and CHART.

Course Contents

Introduction to the Macro Facility

purpose of the macro facility
program flow
course data and logistics

Macro Variables

introduction to macro variables
automatic macro variables
macro variable references
user-defined macro variables
delimiting macro variable names
macro functions

Macro Definitions

defining and calling macros
the autocall facility
macro parameters

DATA Step and SQL Interfaces

creating macro variables in the DATA step
indirect references to macro variables
retrieving macro variables in the DATA step
creating macro variables in SQL

Macro Programs

conditional processing
iterative processing
global and local symbol tables

Learning More

SAS resources
other recommended courses

Software

This course addresses Base SAS. This course is appropriate for students who are using SAS Version 8 or SAS 9 software.

Course Materials

Classroom: Students attend classroom courses in one of our public training centers. You receive a hardcopy of the course notes and, in some courses, can choose to take home a copy of the course data.

Live Web: Students attend Live Web classes using a Web browser and a telephone and interact with their instructor and fellow classmates in real time. Each student receives an e-mail with instructions on how to join the class three business days before the class begins. The instructions e-mail includes a link to download the course materials. Students need to download and print the course materials prior to class.

System Requirements

For Live Web, you must

review and follow the general system requirements.
complete the course exercises through our virtual lab. The virtual lab allows you to access the software used in class over the Internet, so that you do not need this software on your local machine.
run this test to connect to a virtual lab session. If firewall problems prevent you from connecting to the virtual lab, then you will need the following software installed and configured in your environment to participate in the course exercises:
- Base SAS 9.2 or 9.1.3 on a Windows operating system or SAS Learning Edition.
  Important: Students using SAS Learning Edition will need to create a shortcut to the SAS windowing environment (SAS Explorer, Enhanced Editor, Log, and Output windows) for use during the class. Follow these instructions for creating a shortcut to SAS prior to class.

Share Your Thoughts

Not sure if this course suits your needs or which delivery method is right for you? Give us a call at 800-333-7660 or send us e-mail. If you have suggestions for this course or would like for it to be offered at another training facility, let us know by adding to our Interest List.

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