Glossary

access descriptor

a SAS/ACCESS file that describes data that is managed by SAS, by a database management system, or by a PC-based software application such as Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, or dBASE. After creating an access descriptor, you can use it as the basis for creating one or more view descriptors.

client

an application that requests either resources or services from a server, possibly over a network.

column

a vertical component of a table. Each column has a unique name, contains data of a specific type, and has particular attributes. A column is analogous to a variable in SAS terminology.

commit

the process that ends a transaction and that makes permanent any changes to the database that the user made during the transaction.

Data Interchange Format file

an ASCII text file with a file header section and a data section that is used to exchange data between incompatible systems. Software vendors' files must have a tabular format in order to be translated using DIF. Using the Lotus 1-2-3 Translate Utility, a 1-2-3 worksheet can be translated into a DIF file; DIF files, not 1-2-3 worksheets, are specified in the ACCESS and DBLOAD procedures. Short form: DIF file.

data set

See SAS data set.

DATA step view

a type of SAS data set that consists of a stored DATA step program. A DATA step view contains a definition of data that is stored elsewhere; the view does not contain the physical data. The view's input data can come from one or more sources, including external files and other SAS data sets. Because a DATA step view only reads (opens for input) other files, you cannot update the view's underlying data.

data type

an attribute of every column in a table or database. The data type tells the operating system how much physical storage to set aside for the column and specifies what type of data the column will contain. It is similar to the type attribute of SAS variables.

data value

a unit of character, numeric, or alphanumeric information. This unit is stored as one item in a data record, such as a person’s height being stored as one variable (namely, a column or vertical component) in an observation (row).

data view

See SAS data view.

database

an organized collection of related data. A database usually contains named files, named objects, or other named entities such as tables, views, and indexes.

database field

a vertical component of a dBASE .DBF file that contains data of a specific type with certain attributes. A database field is analogous to a variable in SAS terminology.

database management system

a software application that enables you to create and manipulate data that is stored in the form of databases. Short form: DBMS.

DBMS

See database management system.

delimiter

a character that serves as a boundary that separates the elements of a text string.

DIF file

See Data Interchange Format file.

engine

a component of SAS software that reads from or writes to a file. Various engines enable SAS to access different types of file formats.

format

See SAS format.

index

a component of a SAS data set that enables SAS to access observations in the SAS data set quickly and efficiently. The purpose of SAS indexes is to optimize WHERE-clause processing and to facilitate BY-group processing.

interface view engine

a type of SAS engine that SAS/ACCESS software uses to retrieve data from files that have been formatted by another vendor's software. Each SAS/ACCESS interface has its own interface view engine, which reads the interface product data and returns the data in a form that SAS can understand (that is, in a SAS data set).

library reference

See libref.

libref

a SAS name that is associated with the location of a SAS library. For example, in the name MYLIB.MYFILE, MYLIB is the libref, and MYFILE is a file in the SAS library.

member

an element of a dimension. For example, for a dimension that contains time periods, each time period is a member of the dimension.

member name

a name that is assigned to a SAS file in a SAS library.

member type

a SAS name that identifies the type of information that is stored in a SAS file. Member types include ACCESS, AUDIT, DMBD, DATA, CATALOG, FDB, INDEX, ITEMSTOR, MDDB, PROGRAM, UTILITY, and VIEW.

missing value

a type of value for a variable that contains no data for a particular row or column. By default, SAS writes a missing numeric value as a single period and a missing character value as a blank space.

observation

a row in a SAS data set. All of the data values in an observation are associated with a single entity such as a customer or a state. Each observation contains either one data value or a missing-value indicator for each variable.

pass-through facility

See SQL pass-through facility.

PC Files Server

a SAS application that receives client requests to access Microsoft Windows-specific data files, such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access. The application runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, as either a 32-bit or a 64-bit application.

PROC SQL view

a SAS data set that is created by the SQL procedure. A PROC SQL view contains no data. Instead, it stores information that enables it to read data values from other files, which can include SAS data files, SAS/ACCESS views, DATA step views, or other PROC SQL views. The output of a PROC SQL view can be either a subset or a superset of one or more files.

query

a set of instructions that requests particular information from one or more data sources.

RDBMS

See relational database management system.

record

See data record, schema record.

relational database management system

a database management system that organizes and accesses data according to relationships between data items. The main characteristic of a relational database management system is the two-dimensional table. Examples of relational database management systems are DB2, Oracle, Sybase, and Microsoft SQL Server.

rollback

a data recovery process that restores a database after a hardware or software failure, or that returns it to a state before changes were made.

SAS data file

a type of SAS data set that contains data values as well as descriptor information that is associated with the data. The descriptor information includes information such as the data types and lengths of the variables, as well as the name of the engine that was used to create the data.

SAS data set

a file whose contents are in one of the native SAS file formats. There are two types of SAS data sets: SAS data files and SAS data views. SAS data files contain data values in addition to descriptor information that is associated with the data. SAS data views contain only the descriptor information plus other information that is required for retrieving data values from other SAS data sets or from files whose contents are in other software vendors' file formats.

SAS data view

a type of SAS data set that retrieves data values from other files. A SAS data view contains only descriptor information such as the data types and lengths of the variables (columns) plus other information that is required for retrieving data values from other SAS data sets or from files that are stored in other software vendors' file formats. Short form: data view.

SAS format

a type of SAS language element that applies a pattern to or executes instructions for a data value to be displayed or written as output. Types of formats correspond to the data's type: numeric, character, date, time, or timestamp. The ability to create user-defined formats is also supported. Examples of SAS formats are BINARY and DATE. Short form: format.

SAS metadata

metadata that is created by SAS software. Metadata that is in SAS Open Metadata Architecture format is one example.

SAS variable

a column in a SAS data set or in a SAS data view. The data values for each variable describe a single characteristic for all observations (rows).

server

software that provides either resources or services to requesting clients, possibly over a network.

SQL

See Structured Query Language.

SQL pass-through facility

the technology that enables SQL query code to be passed to a particular DBMS for processing. Short form: pass-through facility.

Structured Query Language

a standardized, high-level query language that is used in relational database management systems to create and manipulate objects in a database management system. SAS implements SQL through the SQL procedure. Short form: SQL.

type

See data type.

variable

See SAS variable.

view

a definition of a virtual data set that is named and stored for later use. A view contains no data; it merely describes or defines data that is stored elsewhere.

view descriptor

a SAS/ACCESS file that defines part or all of the DBMS data that is described by an access descriptor.