SAS Companion for the CMS Environment

SAS Language Elements

Data Set Options

The PROTECT= data set option (security for V5 data sets) is no longer supported.

The READ= data set was removed because it no longer has any host specifics. READ= is fully documented in SAS Language Reference: Dictionary.

Functions and CALL Routines

The following call routines and functions are new:

CALL SLEEP: suspends execution of a SAS DATA step for a specified amount of time.
DINFO: returns information about a directory.
DOPEN: opens a directory and returns a directory identifier value.
DOPTNAME: returns directory attribute information.
DOPTNUM: returns the number of information items that are available for a directory.
FCLOSE: closes an external file, directory, or directory member.
FEXIST: verifies the existence of an external file associated with a fileref and returns a value.
FILENAME: assigns or deassigns a fileref for an external file.
FILEREF: verifies that a fileref has been assigned and returns a value.
FILEXIST: verifies the existence of an external file by its physical name and returns a value.
FINFO: returns the value of a file information item.
FOPEN: opens an external file and returns a file identifier value.
FOPTNAME: returns the name of an item of information about a file.
FOPTNUM: returns the number of information items that are available for a file.
LIBNAME: assigns or deassigns a libref for a SAS data library and returns a value.
MOPEN: opens a file by directory ID and member name and also returns either the file identifier or zero.
PATHNAME: returns the physical name of a SAS data library or an external file or else returns a blank.
SYSGET: returns the values of a specified host-environment variable or symbol.

Procedures

The following procedures are either new or improved:

PROC DBF: with a license for SAS/ACCESS for PC File Formats you can now convert a dBASE file to a SAS data set or a SAS data set to a dBASE file.
PROC ITEMS: enables you to create, modify, and delete itemstores, which are special file formats that are used to store information that relates to the SAS session. You can load user-defined Help into itemstores for display in the SAS Help browser.
PROC TAPELABEL: now produces output through the Output Delivery System. This procedure also has new DUMP=, BLOCKS, and RECORDS options for specifying dumps to tape.

Statements

FILE

The FILE statement now supports the following new options:

LINESIZE=: works with the LRECL= option to specify the maximum number of columns in print files, nonprint files, and the SAS log.
PRINT | NOPRINT: specifies whether to include carriage-return characters in output files.

FILENAME

In SAS Version 8, the FILENAME statement supports the EMAIL device type and new EMAIL-related options, which allow you to send electronic mail from within SAS.

The FILENAME statement now supports the following new options:

FTP: tells SAS to use the FTP communications protocol to access the specified external file.
HTTP: tells SAS to use the HTTP protocol to access the specified external file.
PIPES: is a device-type option that implements CMS pipelines in SAS.
TELNET: tells SAS to use the TELNET communications protocol to access the specified external file.

System Options

This section lists system options that have host-specific values or behavior. Many of the new system options are portable and have no host-specific values. Therefore, they are not documented in this section. See SAS Language Reference: Dictionary for details.

The following system options are new:

ECHO=

specifies a message to be displayed at SAS invocation.

EMAILSYS=

specifies a CMS pipeline stage used to send electronic mail from within SAS.

HELPLOC=

specifies the location of SAS Help text and index files.

MEMSIZE=

specifies the limit on the total amount of memory to be used by SAS.

MSG=

specifies the path to the SASMSG directory.

MSGCASE

specifies uppercase or lowercase message display.

OPLIST

controls whether to write the settings of SAS system options to the SAS log.

RTRACE=

enables collection of data on SAS file I/O.

RTRACELOC=

specifies the file to which RTRACE information is written.

SET=

defines an environment variable.

SORTCUTP=

specifies the number of bytes above which the host sort program should be used instead of the SAS sort program.

SORTEQOP

controls whether SAS passes the EQUALS option to the host sort program by default.

SORTNAME=

specifies the name of the host sort utility.

STIMEFMT=

specifies the format used to display time statistics.

XCMD

specifies whether the SAS X command is valid in this SAS session.
The following system options are now obsolete:
- APPSEC=
- CODEPASS=
- CODEPCT=
- MEMFILL=
- MEMRPT
- ORAVER=
- STATS
- TCPSEC=
- VIOBUF=
The MSGLEVEL= system option is now documented as a portable option in SAS Language Reference: Dictionary because it no longer has host-specific aspects.

Commands

The following commands are new:

DFLTACTION: simulates a mouse double-click
EXPLODE: lets you display and edit the full length of truncated text entry fields
FILEMAC: saves the contents of the Program Editor window to a CMS MACLIB.
FIND: In Version 8, locates text in help windows. This command is documented in the SAS Language Reference: Dictionary.
WIDGNEXT: moves the keyboard focus from one widget to the next widget
WIDGPREV: moves the keyboard focus from one widget to the previous widget

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