SAS Names and Support for DBMS Names

Naming Behavior When Creating DBMS Objects

The following two tables illustrate how SAS/ACCESS handles variable names when creating DBMS objects such as tables and views. This information applies generally to all interfaces. In some cases, however, it is not necessary to specify these options because the option default values are DBMS-specific. See the documentation for your DBMS for details. Examples that illustrate the different types of naming actions and defaults are available.

SAS Variable Names to DBMS Column Names When Creating Tables
SAS Variable Name as Input	Desired DBMS Column Name	Options
Any SAS variable name, such as Miles	Default DBMS column name (normalized to follow the DBMS's naming conventions), such as MILES	PRESERVE_COL_NAMES=NO
A case-sensitive SAS variable name, such as Miles	Case-sensitive DBMS column name, such as Miles	PRESERVE_COL_NAMES=YES
A SAS variable name with characters that are not valid in a normalized SAS name, such as Miles-to-Go	Case-sensitive DBMS column name that matches the SAS name, such as Miles-to-Go	PROC SQL DQUOTE=ANSI and PRESERVE_COL_NAMES=YES or, in a DATA or PROC step, use a SAS name literal and PRESERVE_COL_NAMES=YES and VALIDVARNAME=ANY

SAS Data Set Names to DBMS Table Names
SAS Data Set Name as Input	Desired DBMS Table Name	Options
Any SAS data set name, such as Payroll	Default DBMS table name (normalized to follow the DBMS's naming conventions), such as PAYROLL	PRESERVE_TAB_NAMES=NO
Case-sensitive SAS data set name, such as Payroll	Case-sensitive DBMS table name, such as Payroll	PRESERVE_TAB_NAMES=YES
Case-sensitive SAS data set name with characters that are not valid in a normalized SAS name, such as Payroll-for-QC	Case-sensitive DBMS table name that matches the SAS name, such as Payroll-for-QC	PROC SQL DQUOTE=ANSI and PRESERVE_TAB_NAMES=YES or, in a DATA or PROC step, use a SAS name literal and PRESERVE_TAB_NAMES=YES

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