|
SAS data sets |
can be one of two types:
|
SAS data
files |
store actual data values. A SAS data
file consists of a descriptor portion that describes the data in the file,
and a data portion. |
|
SAS data views |
contain references to data stored
elsewhere. A SAS data view uses descriptor information and data from other
files. It allow you to dynamically combine data from various sources, without
using storage space to create a new data set. Data views consist of DATA step
views, PROC SQL views, and SAS/ACCESS views. In most cases, you can use a
SAS data view as if it were a SAS data file. |
For more information, see
SAS Data Files,
and
SAS Data Views. |
|
Raw
data |
specifies unprocessed data that have
not been read into a SAS data set. You can read raw data from two sources:
|
External files |
contain records comprised of formatted
data (data are arranged in columns) or free-formatted data (data that are
not arranged in columns). |
|
Instream data |
is data included in your program.
You use the DATALINES statement at the beginning of your data to identify
the instream data. |
For more information about raw data, see
Reading Raw Data. |
| Remote access |
allows you to read input data from
nontraditional sources such as a TCP/IP socket or a URL. SAS treats this data
as if it were coming from an external file. SAS allows you to access your
input data remotely in the following ways:
|
SAS catalog |
specifies the access method that
enables you to reference a SAS catalog as an external file. |
|
FTP |
specifies the access method that
enables you to use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to read from or write to a
file from any host machine that is connected to a network with an FTP server
running. |
|
TCP/IP socket |
specifies the access method that
enables you to read from or write to a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP) socket. |
|
URL |
specifies the access method that
enables you to use the Universal Resource Locator (URL) to read from and write
to a file from any host machine that is connected to a network with a URL
server running. |
For more information about accessing data remotely, see FILENAME,
CATALOG Access Method; FILENAME, FTP Access Method; FILENAME, SOCKET Access
Method; and FILENAME, URL Access Method statements in the Statements section
of
SAS Language Reference: Dictionary. |
