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LIBNAME

Valid:	anywhere in a SAS program
Windows specifics:	Valid values for engine; specifications for SAS-data-library

Note:   This is a simplified version of the LIBNAME statement syntax. For the complete syntax and its explanation, see the LIBNAME statement in SAS Language Reference: Dictionary.  

libref

is any valid libref, as documented in SAS Language Reference: Dictionary.

engine-name

is one of the following library engines supported under Windows:

V8	accesses Version 8 data sets. You can use the nickname BASE for this engine.
V7	accesses Version 7 data sets.
V6	accesses Release 6.08 through Release 6.12 data sets.
V612	accesses Release 6.12 data sets.
V611	accesses Release 6.11 data sets.
V610	accesses Release 6.10 data sets.
V609	accesses Release 6.09 data sets.
V608	accesses Release 6.08 data sets.
V604	accesses Release 6.03 and Release 6.04 data sets.
XPORT	accesses transport format files.
BMDP	accesses BMDP data files.
OSIRIS	accesses OSIRIS data files.
SPSS	accesses SPSS system files.

For more information about these engines, see Multiple Engine Architecture and the discussion of engines in SAS Language Reference: Dictionary.

SAS-data-library

is the physical name of a SAS data library under Windows. It must be a valid Windows pathname. You can concatenate several Windows directories together to serve as a single SAS data library. When you specify multiple libraries, use parenthesis around the first and last library pathnames. For more information on concatenated SAS data libraries, see Understanding How Concatenated SAS Data Libraries Are Accessed.

MEMLIB

specifies to use Extended Server Memory Architecture (ESMA) memory for this library. For more information on using ESMA memory, see Processing SAS Libraries in Extended Server Memory Architecture Memory.

LONGFILEEXT | SHORTFILEEXT

specifies whether the library supports long file extensions or short file extensions (3 characters). LONGFILEEXT is the default.

If SAS is not able to create a file with a long file extension in a library, then the library supports only files with short file extensions. If you specify a file with a long file extension for a library that supports only short file extension, an error message informs you that the member name is too long for the system.

Details

The LIBNAME statement associates a libref with a permanent SAS data library. It also can be used to list the file attributes of a SAS data library. (The LIBNAME statement is also used to clear a libref. For more information, see Clearing Librefs.)

The SAS Explorer window provides an intuitive interface to assigning SAS data libraries. For information about managing SAS data libraries using this interactive interface, see SAS introduction books.

Note:   The words CON, NUL, PRN, LPT1 - LPT9, and COM1 - COM9 are reserved words under Windows. Do not use them as librefs.   

Associating Librefs

Use one of the following forms of the LIBNAME statement to associate a libref or an engine with a SAS data library:

Syntax

LIBNAME libref <engine> 'SAS-data-library'

LIBNAME libref <engine> (SAS-data-library-1<,...'SAS-data-library-n')>;

You can use the same arguments with these forms of the LIBNAME statement as shown in Syntax.

Listing Data Library Attributes

With the LIST option, you can use the LIBNAME statement to list attributes of SAS data libraries. Data Library Attributes Listed by the LIBNAME Statement shows the results of the following LIBNAME statement:

libname sashelp list;

Data Library Attributes Listed by the LIBNAME Statement

5 libname sashelp list; NOTE: Libref= SASHELP Scope= Kernel Levels= 24 -Level 1- Engine= V8 Physical Name= c:\program files\sasv8\SASCFG File Name=c:\program files\sasv8\SASCFG -Level 2- Engine= V8 Physical Name= c:\program files\sasv8\core\sashelp File Name=c:\program files\sasv8\core\sashelp -Level 3- Engine= V8 Physical Name= c:\program files\sasv8\base\sashelp File Name= c:\program files\sasv8\base\sashelp . . . -Level 24- Engine= V8 Physical Name= c:\program files\sasv8\whouse\sashelp File Name= c:\program files\sasv8\whouse\sashelp 6 run;

See Also

• LIBNAME statement in SAS Language Reference: Dictionary

• Using Data Libraries

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