SAS® Job Execution Web Application: What It Is & When to Use It

[#1]

In case you missed our live webinar "SAS® Job Execution Web Application: What It Is & When to Use It". Don't worry. You can watch the recording right now.  

Watch the webinar

In this article you'll find a summary of the session, attached copy of the slides presented, and an extended Q&A wrap up.

About this session

The SAS Job Execution Web Application is a web-based client used to create, manage and execute jobs.

Included as part of SAS® Viya®, the Job Execution Web Application provides developers an environment to develop and run applications that can both access data and apply the complete Viya feature set of analysis and presentation procedures.

It can access any SAS data source or external file and create new tables, files or other data targets that are supported by SAS.

In this webinar, you will learn how to:

• Apply built-in SAS Viya authentication mechanisms to create applications that can directly access both compute (CAS actions and SAS procs) and the APIs.
• Analyze and display information on the web and let your web users immediately retrieve the information they need.
• Create applications that provide web output without investing a lot of programming time.
• Create applications that run on a variety of web browsers.

Sample code

The code used in the demonstrations during the webinar is available on GitHub.

Q&A from the webinar

How do you get AUTH key to connect to SAS/VIYA for Postman?

To connect to SAS from Postman (or other clients) you need an access token. I wrote about authentication in my blog post Authentication to SAS Viya: a couple of approaches. You can also refer to the documentation on developer.sas.com.

Does this feature come with SAS Viya application?

Yes, the SAS Job Execution Web Applicaiton comes out-of-the-box with a SAS Viya install. Add /SASJobExecution to the SAS URL to access the web app.

Should every user have account access to view the reports?

This truly depends on the security policies of an organization. Admins can configure user/group accounts to have access to reports. You can also use the concept of 'guest' access to easily view reports. 

Can we create REST APIs on SAS Viya or is it separate functionality as an add-on?

SAS Viya offers two sets of REST APIs: SAS Viya and CAS Actions. Each set has its own set of uses, but both are available with no additional licensing or configuration. An earlier SAS webinar Using SAS APIs will give you more information on API usage.

The text in the demo portion is tiny. can you adjust the resolution so it's bigger?

Hi Lori, you can maximize the media player window to full screen by clicking the four arrows near the minimize button on the media player window. You can also try increasing your screen size with Ctrl and the + key.

I missed the beginning, do you need SAS Viya for the web app, or is that just part of the example?

The job execution web application is a component of SAS Viya. So yes, you will need SAS Viya.

How to create stored process like sas9 here in Viya?

Consider the SAS Viya Job Execution Web Application equivalent to SAS9 stored processes. See the blog post Jobs: Stored processes in Viya for more information on converting your SAS9 stored process to SAS Viya Jobs.

Where was genderParameter defined and where does it reside?

In the example I used in the demo, the &genderParameter is a SAS macro I create in the code. I present the gender choice to the user as part of the front end HTML form. The choice made by the user on the form is stored in the genderParameter variable in the JavaScript function in the HTML form code. The value chosen by the user is passed from the form to the SAS code.

This capability using Viya 3.x or 2020.1? or it is available in both?

The SAS Viya Job Execution Web Application is available on all SAS Viya versions. Later versions of SAS Viya will have more functionality than earlier versions.

There was a lag as he switched back to the demo - how did he get to job details with the URL?

Within the job execution web application, in the you can right click on the job and choose ""properties"" - there you will find details on the job (including the URL!)

The first form used JavaScript while the second one didn't. Is JavaScript required or was it only used to enhance form functionality in the first example?

Javascript is not required (it was only added to enhance the form functionality). You can use HTML, Javascript or a combination of both in your Job's front end HTML.

Why did you choose to show the Job Execution Web Application instead of SAS Studio?

This is strictly a question of comfort zones for users. SAS provides much of the same functionality in SAS Studio that is offered in the SAS Viya Job Execution Web Application. Making a choice of which IDE to use for Job development depends on a users comfort level with each solution.