Part 1: Bye, Bye SAS Studio Tasks in SAS Viya
Author’s note: This article is written with educators in mind. That said, SAS Studio is for everyone — and the retirement of SAS Studio Tasks affects anyone using the newest versions of SAS Viya.
The headliner
And yet the documentation warning us was so innocuous:
“Deprecation” is a funny word — one that somehow seems to soften the blow of a good friend departing.
But let’s be honest: a word change doesn’t fundamentally change the reality – or tell us how to forge ahead. So, if you loved SAS Studio Tasks — especially for teaching and learning — then this article is for you.
File Under: Promises Made, Promises Kept
If you’re an educator, you might be thinking:
“Wait — why didn’t anyone tell me SAS Studio Tasks were retiring in SAS Viya for Learners?”
Fair question.
And here’s where I’ll gently rewind the tape to a post many of you may remember: Part 1: SAS Viya for Learners upgraded to SAS Viya 2025.03LTS
I’m not sharing that to say “I told you so.” I’m sharing it to highlight the continuous improvement/continuous delivery (CI/CD) world we now live in — one where software evolves continuously, and where our goal in SAS Academic Programs is to keep Viya for Learners on the most current Long-Term Support (LTS) release whenever possible.
Practically speaking, that means upgrades about twice a year — typically in January/February and May/June. Change comes with effort, but we believe the expanding functionality makes it worth it.
And it’s also a promise: with each upgrade, I’ll keep doing my best to tell you what’s coming, what’s changing, and how it may impact your classroom.
Why SAS Studio Task retirement matters to some academics
Let’s be honest: SAS Studio Tasks were a fantastic teaching device.
Why? Because with a simple click, students could see real SAS code come to life. Tasks lowered the barrier to entry — and in doing so, helped countless learners build confidence before they ever wrote their first PROC from scratch.
That “aha” moment from just a click? That’s pedagogy at work.
And while Tasks may be retiring in SAS Viya, all is not lost. In fact, depending on why you were using Tasks, there are three strong paths forward.
Option 1: Stay with SAS Studio Tasks in SAS OnDemand for Academics
Good news: SAS Studio Tasks are alive and well in SAS OnDemand for Academics.
If your course is built around existing SAS course notes — and especially if your materials include lots of screenshots — you may not want to redesign everything overnight. And that’s completely reasonable.
While we’d love every student to experience the full power of SAS Viya (including tools like SAS Visual Analytics and SAS Model Studio), we also recognize that many classes only need one core tool — and SAS Studio in SAS OnDemand for Academics continues to deliver exactly that.
Option 2: Embrace the change – welcome SAS Studio Flows!
Our SAS Viya developers are all-in on SAS Studio Steps and Flows — and for good reason. They offer a more intuitive way to organize analytic work in a no/low-code environment, and they meet longtime SAS Enterprise Guide users exactly where they are.
And let’s be real: many people don’t actually care how the code is written — they care that the workflow is logical, repeatable, and easy to understand. That’s where Flows shine.
From a technical perspective, Steps and Flows in SAS Viya:
- support modular, reusable analytics
- align with modern CI/CD practices
- integrate naturally with SAS Viya based processing
- create a bridge between point-and-click users and full programmers
If you’d like to see this approach in action, check out this fantastic SAS Communities post by my EDU colleague: Try out a SAS Studio Flow with me (beginner friendly)
Option 3: Use your favorite copilot — and watch what’s coming next
One of the bright sides of CI/CD software is that it never stops evolving. On our near-term roadmap, SAS will introduce SAS Code Assistance via SAS Viya Copilot in the SAS Extension for Visual Studio Code.
Translation: a Viya-aware coding assistant that helps programmers write better SAS code, faster.
The current plan is for this capability to arrive with a summer update to SAS Viya for Learners.
Now, full transparency: today, this copilot experience lives in Visual Studio Code, not directly inside SAS Studio.
Boo? A little. 😄
But also exciting — because it signals a future where learners aren’t just clicking buttons or memorizing syntax. They’re collaborating with intelligent tools that help them think more deeply about analytics.
And in the meantime? I’ll keep grinding to find the best ways to support educators and programmers in SAS Viya. And yes — ChatGPT is always happy to chat with you, too. 🙂
Conclusion: Change, with a purpose
The retirement of SAS Studio Tasks in SAS Viya marks the end of something many of us genuinely loved. Tasks weren’t just a feature — they were a teaching partner, a confidence booster, and often a student’s first real “win” with analytics.
But this change also signals something important: SAS education is evolving right alongside modern analytics practice. And that’s a good thing.
Whether you choose to:
- continue using Tasks through SAS OnDemand for Academics,
- explore the new world of SAS Studio Steps and Flows, or
- lean into emerging copilots and AI-assisted coding tools,
you’re not losing a pathway — you’re gaining new ones.
A few calls to action
If you’re an educator navigating this shift, I encourage you to:
- Experiment boldly. Try Steps and Flows, try new programming interfaces, and try copilots.
- Teach the “why,” not just the “how.” Let tools change; let thinking endure.
- Join the conversation — share what you’re learning in SAS Communities and help guide the next chapter of analytics education.
And if you’re feeling a little nostalgic about Tasks? You’re not alone. I’ll miss them, too.
But I’m even more excited about what comes next.
