Step into the future of data management! With the recent release of SAS Viya (2023.12), the Manage Columns step has undergone a major upgrade, catapulting its functionality to a new level. From the ability to modify column data types, lengths, informats, and formats to creating entirely new columns, the possibilities have expanded significantly. Moreover, the option to output a view instead of a table adds a new layer of flexibility to your workflow. The upgraded Manage Columns step isn't just about features - it's a game-changer for migration from DI Studio to SAS Studio too.
The Manage Columns step is available in SAS Studio Basic, SAS Studio Analyst, and SAS Studio Engineer. These licenses also include the Query step, which encompasses functionality similar to the Manage Columns step, with the exception that the Manage Columns step allows for input and output CAS tables—a feature currently not available in the Query step.
Let’s demonstrate the enhanced features of the Manage Columns step by using a SAS table as input and a view as output, briefly assess the generated code and then compare it with code generated using CAS tables.
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Let’s substitute the input and output options with CAS tables. For demonstration purposes, I have simply uploaded the CARS table to the CASUSER CAS library using the following code:
cas;
caslib _all_ assign;
proc casutil;
load data=sashelp.cars outcaslib="casuser"
casout="cars";
run;
To summarise:
Other notes:
Here are some other methods of managing columns in SAS Studio on the SAS Viya Platform.
Manage Columns Step | Query Step | Stand-alone Query | Table Viewer | |
Select and Order Output Columns | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Modify Output Column Names | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Modify Output Column Labels | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Modify Output Length | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Modify Output Informat | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Modify Output Format | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Group Rows | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Filter Groups | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Join Tables | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Filter Rows | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Sort Rows | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Remove Duplicate Rows | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Remove Duplicates by Sort Columns | visible columns only | |||
Calculate Columns | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Create a View | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Create a SAS Table | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Create a Report | ✔ |
Thanks go to @ChrisLysholm of SAS R&D for editing, contributions and valuable suggestions for improvements of this article.
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Thanks for sharing, @GemmaR . This is very interesting, especially the summary table at the end. Thanks to David Weik's Change report with its filtering capabilities ( https://criptic.github.io/SAS-Whats-New/index.html ) I could trace back this Column feature to Viya Stable 202312 version (LTS can only refer to 202303 or 202310 bi-annual releases); next LTS in 2024 will also use this feature presumably.
Hi @ronan , thank you so much for reaching out! You are, of course, correct and I have updated the article accordingly. My apologies for the oversight.
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