SAS Tech Report: Tips and Tricks from SAS

October 2018, SAS Tech Report

Dear Reader,

It's fair season here in North Carolina. As in, the NC State Fair. Most everyone, it seems, makes elaborate plans to go. A common theme I hear in the hallways at work and lines at the grocery store is how to dodge the crowds. "I'm going first thing on Sunday morning." "I'm taking an afternoon off in the middle of the week." "I like to go around dinnertime and stay for the fireworks … on a weekday." The crowds are the main reason I've not fallen into a ritual of attending the State Fair. I avoid lots and lots of people in one place as much as possible. Unless, of course, it's at a concert. Crowds don't bother me during live music, but that's another Editor's Note.

Whether or not you're a "fair goer" in your hometown, I'm sure you can appreciate the art of skipping the crowds and getting straight to the good stuff. Perhaps that's why you read the Tech Report. It highlights a few of the best SAS technical resources of the month, so you can avoid sifting through them on your own. This month features programming tips, a piece on model interpretability and a debut "For Developers" section.

Enjoy!

Anna Brown
Editor, SAS Tech Report
Follow me @abrown7

SAS^® Tips and Tricks

User-defined formats and SAS programming in the cloud

Learn how SAS® Cloud Analytic Services (CAS) server actions support the creation and management of user-defined formats in this paper by SAS' Denise Poll. Then hear her explain how the CASL programming language has evolved in this Tech Talk video.

6 easy ways to specify a list of variables in SAS

The SAS language provides syntax that enables you to quickly specify a list of variables. You may be familiar with the SAS doc that describes how to construct lists. This blog post provides more context and a cut-and-paste example for every syntax.

Three of my favorite programming tips

Well-known SAS consultant Ron Cody serves up a few of his go-to programming tips in this post:

1) COUNTC and CATS Functions Together
2) Use CALL SORTN to Save Lots of Coding
3) Cody's Law of SAS Programming

Interpret model predictions with partial dependence and individual conditional expectation plots

Continuing the blog series on model interpretability, this post explains two methods for plotting variables that can give insight into how a model is working.

New course! SAS Data Prep on SAS Viya

If you're just getting started with SAS Data Prep on SAS Viya, check out this training. It'll give an overview of self-service data prep capabilities including bringing in data from a variety of sources, preparing and cleansing it to be fit-for-purpose, analyzing data, and sharing it with others for collaboration and operational use.

NEW! For Developers

Have you visited developer.sas.com?

SAS' developer web site, developer.sas.com, is undergoing a makeover. The site is designed for developers who integrate SAS data into external applications. We're adding updates and delivering new resources daily. This 'For Developers' section is a new addition to the Tech Report and will highlight updates and contributions to the site.

From SAS® Communities

How to set SAS Data Connector/SAS Data Connect Accelerator logging options

Raise your hand if you're a “comma comma comma d” fanatic, or SASTRACE is your go-to option to access a third-party database from SAS. This article uses two examples to explain SASTRACE's counterparts in SAS Viya: the SAS Data Connector/SAS Data Connect Accelerator logging options.

How to execute Python or R models using the Open Source Code node in SAS Viya

Compare and assess Python or R models with SAS in the Model Studio application of SAS Visual Data Mining and Machine Learning 8.3. This article illustrates how through an example that compares a forest model using the Open Source Code node.

Reading data from a database into a SAS macro variable is EASY

Remember that time when you needed to take data from a database query and put it into a SAS macro variable? SAS' Jeff Bailey just did it and shared the example.

SAS News

SAS Global Forum 2019 Registration Now Open

Reserve your seat for the largest gathering of SAS users, experts and thought leaders from around the globe Apr. 28-May 1, 2019 in Dallas, Texas.

SAS^® Tech Report

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October 2018, SAS Tech Report

SAS® Tips and Tricks

NEW! For Developers

From SAS® Communities

SAS News

SAS^® Tips and Tricks