Introducing PROC R (Part 3): Creating and Calling R Scripts

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PROC R makes it easy to incorporate R code within SAS programs. But what if you want to create an R script all on its own? Or, what if you want to reference an external R script within your SAS program? Keep reading to find out how!

This is the third post in a series of posts introducing PROC R. If interested, parts 1 and 2 can be found here:

Part 1: Introducing PROC R (Part 1): The Newest Way to Integrate R and SAS

Part 2: Introducing PROC R (Part 2): Creating R Plots Within SAS Programs

Note: To access PROC R, users should have access to SAS Viya 2026.03 or later.

Creating a Stand-Alone R Script

Embedding R code in a PROC R step is useful for quick analyses; however, external R scripts are often preferred for larger projects, code reuse, and collaboration. Within SAS Studio, users can create their own R scripts by selecting Program in R from the Start page, or by selecting New > R Program. This will create a .R file where you can code exclusively in R without needing to specify the PROC R step anywhere in the code.

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For example, the following R code analyzes the SASHELP.CARS data set, producing a histogram of highway miles per gallon and a table of information for Honda vehicles:

library(tidyverse)

VMake <- "Honda"
carsdf <- sd2df("sashelp.cars")

mycars <- carsdf %>%
filter(Make == VMake)

# Create a macro variable in SAS from R
avg_msrp <- round(mean(mycars$MSRP, na.rm = TRUE))

df2sd(mycars, "work.filtered_cars")

p <- ggplot(mycars, aes(x = MPG_Highway)) +
     geom_histogram(binwidth = 5, fill = "#69b3a2",
     color = "#1f3552", alpha = 0.8) +
     labs(
        title = "Distribution of Highway MPG",
        x = "Highway MPG",
        y = "Count"
        ) +
     theme_minimal(base_size = 14) +
     theme(
     plot.title = element_text(hjust = 0.5, face = "bold"),
     axis.title = element_text(face = "bold"),
     panel.grid.minor = element_blank()
)

    rplot(p)

show(head(mycars), paste0("First 5 ", VMake," Cars (Avg MSRP = ", "$", format(avg_msrp, big.mark = ","), ")")) 

This code utilizes some of the important functions that let R and SAS speak to each other, such as sd2df() and show(); however, all code is within an R script.

Referencing an External R File Within a SAS Program

Users can also reference external R files within SAS programs. For example, in the previous code, I assigned Honda to the variable VMake within R. Alternatively, I could create and assign the macro variable Make in SAS, which is then passed to the R file. The edited R code also creates a new macro variable called AvgPrice that can be used in the SAS program. This code produces the same results as the previous R program.

New R Program (CarsAnalysisR.r)

library(tidyverse)

VMake <- symget("Make")
carsdf <- sd2df("sashelp.cars")

mycars <- carsdf %>%
filter(Make == VMake)

# Create a macro variable in SAS from R
avg_msrp <- round(mean(mycars$MSRP, na.rm = TRUE))
symput("AvgPrice", avg_msrp)

df2sd(mycars, "work.filtered_cars")

p <- ggplot(mycars, aes(x = MPG_Highway)) +
     geom_histogram(binwidth = 5, fill = "#69b3a2",
     color = "#1f3552", alpha = 0.8) +
     labs(
        title = "Distribution of Highway MPG",
        x = "Highway MPG",
        y = "Count"
        ) +
     theme_minimal(base_size = 14) +
     theme(
     plot.title = element_text(hjust = 0.5, face = "bold"),
     axis.title = element_text(face = "bold"),
     panel.grid.minor = element_blank()
)

    rplot(p)

 

SAS Program

%let Make = Honda;

proc R infile="/innovationlab-export/innovationlab/homes/[email protected]/CarsAnalysisR.r";
run;

%put Average MSRP from R = &AvgPrice;

proc print data=filtered_cars(obs=5);
title "First 5 &Make Cars (Avg MSRP = %sysfunc(putn(&AvgPrice, dollar12.)))";
run;

Users can also define a fileref for a file that contains R code. Note that the fileref can be a maximum of 8 characters long.

General Syntax

filename script 'my_script.R'; 
proc r infile=script;

 

Edited SAS Program with a Fileref to CarsAnalysisR.r

%let Make = Honda; 

filename CarsR '/innovationlab-export/innovationlab/homes/[email protected]/CarsAnalysisR.r';

proc R infile= CarsR; 
run; 

%put Average MSRP from R = &AvgPrice; 

proc print data=filtered_cars(obs=5); 
title "First 5 &Make Cars (Avg MSRP = %sysfunc(putn(&AvgPrice, dollar12.)))";
run;

 

Conclusion

PROC R offers multiple ways to combine SAS and R. While embedding R code directly in a SAS program is convenient, stand-alone R scripts and external R files can make your code more modular, reusable, and easier to maintain. Whether you keep your R code inside SAS or in separate files, PROC R provides a flexible framework for integrating both languages in a single workflow.

Helpful Links

Introducing PROC R Video

SAS PROC R Deep Dive Video

PROC R Documentation

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