EG vs PC SAS and excel/access interface

[Darth_Mahler]

I am trying to come up with a recommendation of what SAS products my company might obtain.

A primary need will be SAS/ACCESS Interface to PC Files so we can read/write excel and ms access files. Base SAS as well as SAS/STAT and SAS/GRAPH are a must. As I understand it, all of these things are available with PC SAS as well as with EG. We won't have a dedicated SAS admin or server, but I have heard EG can be installed on a PC with the PC set as the server. I have used PC SAS in the past as well as EG that ran off an actual server.

One drawback I had with EG was that excel/ms access import/export had to be done via wizard. I couldn't just write code to do it. I could do that with PC SAS (just write code and create hundreds of sheets without having to do each one manually). Is this still the case if your PC is the "server" for EG?

[ChrisHemedinger]

When you import data "the easy way" in EG, the wizard does the work with a combination of Windows APIs and SAS code -- so not everything is represented in the SAS program.

However, you can use EG to write your own program to read a collection of data files, as long as your SAS session has access to those files and you have SAS/ACCESS to PC Files licensed and installed.

Chris

[Darth_Mahler]

Hi Chris, what would I use in EG to "write your own program to read a collection of data files"? Data step? Or would I need to write special code that interacts with windows API? Could you provide an example or point me to one?

[ChrisHemedinger]

I was thinking of just the standard PROC IMPORT with DBMS=EXCEL or PCFILES - or the LIBNAME statement with EXCEL or PCFILES engine to read Excel files.

As long as your installed SAS has SAS/ACCESS to PC Files, and the data files are local to your SAS session, these techniques should work just as they did for you in PC SAS.

[Darth_Mahler]

"I was thinking of just the standard PROC IMPORT with DBMS=EXCEL or PCFILES - or the LIBNAME statement with EXCEL or PCFILES engine to read Excel files."

That was how I did it with PC SAS at my last job. I couldn't do that in EG, but the EG ran on an actual server. If I have EG on a PC with that PC as the "server" would the "data files are local to your SAS session" and proc import work by itself? Hoping someone who has done this can verify.

Also would local files just be my c:\ drive or would it also work with a network drive (q:\, etc.)?

[SASKiwi]

To turn your PC into a "server" you need to have Foundation aka Base SAS installed as well as EG. If you also had SAS/ACCESS for PC Files installed and licensed then the scenarios you describe would work. From your EG local connection you interface to your PC Foundation SAS which can reference both your PC's local drives plus any other network drives defined to your PC.

[Darth_Mahler]

So this package would include Base SAS "Order SAS® Software: Order Form" and I'd need EG on top of that. If I want a one man setup, why would I also get EG? Thanks,

[SASKiwi]

The major difference between EG and Base SAS Display Manager is EG contains the "Process Flow" template for building SAS processes without writing code. However to get a better idea check out the SAS Dummy's blog like here:

http://blogs.sas.com/content/sasdummy/2013/05/07/sas-enterprise-guide-many-hats/

[Reeza]

Desktop EG is included by default, so if its free....the difference is if you're on a server.

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