The Options tab in the property window for most transformations includes a field
that is named Create SYSLAST Macro Variable. This field specifies whether SAS Data Integration Studio generates
a SYSLAST macro statement at the end of the current transformation.
In general, accept the default value of YES for the Create SYSLAST Macro Variable option
when the current transformation creates an output table that should
be the input of the next transformation in the process flow. Otherwise,
select NO.
When you select YES for a transformation, SAS Data Integration Studio
adds a SYSLAST macro statement to the end of the code that is generated
for the transformation. The syntax of this statement is as follows:
%let
SYSLAST=transformation_output_table_name;
The value represented
by
transformation_output_table_name
is the name of the last output table created by the
transformation. The SYSLAST macro variable is used to make
transformation_output_table_name
the input for the next step in the process flow.
In most cases, this setting is appropriate.
Setting the value to NO is appropriate when you have added a transformation
to a process flow if that transformation does not produce output,
or if it produces output that should not become the input to the next
step in the flow. The following example illustrates a sample process
flow.
In this example, the Custom Error Handing transformation contains user-written code
that handles errors from the Extract transformation, and the error-handling code does
not produce output that should be become the input to the
target table, ALL_MALE_EMP. Instead, the output from the Extract transformation should become
the input to ALL_MALE_EMP. The Custom Error Handling transformation was created with
the User Written Code transformation. This particular instance of the transformation
was renamed to Custom Error Handling.
In this example, you
would do the following:
-
Leave the Create SYSLAST
Macro Variable option set to YES for the Extract transformation.
-
Set the Create SYSLAST
Macro Variable option to NO for
the Custom Error Handing transformation.