SAS/ACCESS and SAS/CONNECT in SAS

Welcome to this comprehensive tutorial on SAS/ACCESS and SAS/CONNECT in SAS. SAS/ACCESS provides a powerful data integration solution that allows you to access and interact with data from various external data sources. On the other hand, SAS/CONNECT enables you to perform remote computing and access resources from a SAS session running on a different machine. Understanding how to use SAS/ACCESS and SAS/CONNECT effectively can greatly enhance your data manipulation and analysis capabilities in SAS.

Example of SAS Code for SAS/ACCESS

Let's start with a simple example of using SAS/ACCESS to access data from an external database. Suppose you have a database table named sales_data in a MySQL database:


/* Assuming you have the necessary SAS/ACCESS license and configuration */
/* LIBNAME statement to access MySQL database */
libname mydblib mysql server='your_mysql_server' database='your_database' user='your_username' password='your_password';

/* Data step to read data from MySQL table */
data sales;
set mydblib.sales_data;
run;

/* Close the database connection */
libname mydblib clear;

The above code uses the LIBNAME statement to connect to the MySQL database and read the sales_data table into a SAS dataset named sales.

Steps for SAS/ACCESS and SAS/CONNECT in SAS

Follow these steps to use SAS/ACCESS and SAS/CONNECT in SAS:

Step 1: License and Configuration

Ensure you have the appropriate SAS/ACCESS and SAS/CONNECT licenses and configurations to access external data sources and perform remote computing.

Step 2: Import or Access Data

Use the LIBNAME statement with the relevant SAS/ACCESS engine to access data from external data sources like databases, spreadsheets, or Hadoop.

Step 3: Read and Manipulate Data

Use standard SAS data manipulation techniques like DATA steps or SAS procedures to read, filter, join, and transform the data from external sources.

Step 4: Close the Connection

Use the LIBNAME statement with the CLEAR option to close the connection to the external data source after data processing is complete.

Step 5: Use SAS/CONNECT for Remote Computing

Use SAS/CONNECT to establish a connection to a remote SAS session and access resources or execute SAS code on the remote machine.

Common Mistakes with SAS/ACCESS and SAS/CONNECT in SAS

Not having the required SAS/ACCESS or SAS/CONNECT licenses for accessing external data sources or performing remote computing.
Incorrectly specifying the connection details or credentials in the LIBNAME statement, leading to connection errors.
Forgetting to close the database connection after data processing, resulting in resource leaks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Can I use SAS/ACCESS to connect to different types of databases?
A: Yes, SAS/ACCESS provides engines for connecting to various databases, including Oracle, SQL Server, Teradata, and more.
Q: Does SAS/ACCESS support both read and write access to external data sources?
A: Yes, SAS/ACCESS allows you to both read data from and write data to external data sources, depending on the permissions and configurations.
Q: Can I use SAS/CONNECT for distributed computing on multiple machines?
A: Yes, SAS/CONNECT enables distributed computing, allowing you to process data on multiple machines in parallel.
Q: Is SAS/CONNECT required for using SAS/ACCESS?
A: No, SAS/CONNECT and SAS/ACCESS are separate components. SAS/CONNECT is used for remote computing, while SAS/ACCESS is used for data integration.
Q: Can I use SAS/ACCESS to access cloud-based data sources?
A: Yes, SAS/ACCESS supports connecting to various cloud-based data sources, such as Amazon Redshift and Google BigQuery.

Summary

In this tutorial, we covered SAS/ACCESS and SAS/CONNECT in SAS, two essential components that enhance data integration and remote computing capabilities. SAS/ACCESS allows you to access data from various external data sources directly within SAS, while SAS/CONNECT enables you to perform remote computing and access resources on a different machine. By avoiding common mistakes and following best practices, you can efficiently utilize SAS/ACCESS and SAS/CONNECT to effectively manage and analyze data in SAS.