topic Re: SAS Execute SQL Server BCP Command in SAS Programming

SAS Execute SQL Server BCP Command

milts — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 03:39:15 GMT

Hi,

Would like to seek your expertise if has anyone tried to execute bcp command using systask?

Reason is that we would want to achieve SAS orchestrating all the jobs. I have some sas datasets which will serve as reference tables to know which file to pick up and to which table to load to and then I'm planning to create a macro parameterized by the table name. In that way I only have one script to maintain instead of multiple bcp scripts one for each table.

Thanks in advance!

Re: SAS Execute SQL Server BCP Command

LinusH — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 09:49:02 GMT

I have no experience with this exact scenario.

But if BCP commands are accessible like any other OS command from your SAS host, there should be no difference.

A few reflections though, SAS offers a build in bulk loader, why don't you use that? No need for building scripts.

Also, it sounds like you almost trying to build some kind of scheduling facility, with job dependencies. There are tons of SW that does this in different ways. My POV is not to rebuild the wheel unless your requirements are very rare/specific.

Re: SAS Execute SQL Server BCP Command

milts — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 10:03:01 GMT

Thanks for your inputs. If I SAS bulk loader, will it require the file to be converted to a sas dataset first before loading to SQL Server?

Re: SAS Execute SQL Server BCP Command

LinusH — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 11:33:13 GMT

Well, yes. But if your source data isn't passing SAS, why would you use SAS to manage bulk load in SQL Server...?