Introducing SAS Enterprise Guide 8.1!

[SASKiwi]

@Grinvydas  - this isn't a new delivery method. EG has always been delivered via a SAS Software Depot since depots were first introduced. The standalone installers just come in a separate folder in the depot.

[Grinvydas]

I don't want to sound offensive towards to you SASKiwi, sorry if I did. You state the fact how SAS is rolling out their updates.

My main point is that I do not agree with how SAS does it, as it's more complicated for the end users.

I don't understand where is the barrier to make EG standalone install available for public? I believe it's not a technical limitation, but more company politics.

Requesting updated SAS Software Depot in a corporation is quite tedious task.

[Kurt_Bremser]

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@Grinvydas wrote:

Requesting updated SAS Software Depot in a corporation is quite tedious task.

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Don't tell me!  🙂

[SASKiwi]

@Grinvydas - I didn't read it that way so no need to apologise. I'm in total agreement with you that you shouldn't have to download a complete SAS depot to update EG. Although, once you are on EG 8.1 you can use the automatic update menu option for later updates.

[CaseySmith]

Here is the location of the EG standalone installer within your SAS depot:

<SASDEPOTROOT>\standalone_installs\SAS_Enterprise_Guide_Independent_Installer\8_1 (SASEnterpriseGuide81_x86_x64.exe)

As noted, subsequent EG 8.x releases (ex. 8.2, 8.3, etc) will be able to be upgraded to via EG's Check for Updates feature.

I posted additional details here on why we chose not to allow Check for Updates to take you from 7.x to 8.x:

https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Enterprise-Guide/SAS-EG-8-1-how-to-obtain/m-p/567517#M34029

Thanks for the feedback.  We agree and hope to make it easier to get EG in the future.  (Without having to download a massive depot.)

Casey

[Grinvydas]

Thanks for reply.
I probably repeat myself already, but the problem is that end users like me don't know how to get this new depot. Very likely it needs to be requested by someone who is responsible for SAS software in the company. So having EG install file inside an imaginary depot does not help much for now 🙂

[CaseySmith]

You are correct.  Most end users do not manage or interact with the SAS depot.  Your SAS administrator would have to make the installer and/or depot available to you (their end users).

Casey

[Kurt_Bremser]

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@CaseySmith wrote:

You are correct.  Most end users do not manage or interact with the SAS depot.  Your SAS administrator would have to make the installer and/or depot available to you (their end users).

Casey

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And even for the local SAS administrator (like me) it is a pain in the ass to order a new SAS software depot (I am in a quite large company that is part of a VERY LARGE international holding where all such things have to be handled through the holding, which holds the general license, and has a gazillion levels of bureaucracy to do that; after all, they're Germans!) and download 10+ GB just to get ~400M of installer.

Make it available for registered users; cross-check the site number, if necessary.

[Grinvydas]

Kurt, I have exactly your situation in mind when I think about getting this update, the recommended way.
I'm a bit more lucky, my bosses boss happened to know a person from procurement who is SAS rep in our company. Now she contacted a person at SAS for instruction how to obtain SAS Deport for our sites. Let's where it gets us 🙂

[AlexL]

I just downloaded EG 8.1 and started to use it.  Shortly I found that it frequently locks dataset in member mode.  I know that in SAS I needed to close datasets. In EG 7.1 it wasn't a problem.  8.1 is unpredictable.  Closing sometimes does not remedies the problem.  I had to restart EG.  After several restarts  I had to switch back to 7.1.  

[PhilC]

How does EG81 work with VBS, if it does?

[SASKiwi]

@AlexL - This is a new problem so you would be better off starting a new post. What are you doing that locks the dataset in member mode? I've been using 8.1 since June without any major issues.

[AlexL]

OK

1. As I said I decided to try EG 8.1. I do a lot of data manipulations both with Base SAS and SAS SQL I use work file XXX (simple name) quite frequently in the code for intermediate data. Each logical step in my program is: input dataset -> work dataset XXX —> output dataset.

2. After running relatively long (200+ lines) code I saw familiar “member-lock” error. I deleted XXX file view on the top of the screen. I didn’t check the project view and didn’t deleted the dataset XXX there. I use projects because otherwise I cannot use query-builder. I like the query-builder for data-checks. By the way, I start each module with “proc datasets lib=work kill;” to make sure that there are no work files hanging some there. Rerunning the code produced the same error. I closed EG8.1 and started EG7.1.

Below are outputs from SETINIT and PRODUCT_STATUS:

Original site validation data
Current version: 9.04.01M6P110718
Site name: 'POLICY ANALYSIS INC'.
Site number: 70085801.
CPU A: Model name='' model number='' serial=''.
Expiration: 31MAY2020.
Grace Period: 45 days (ending 15JUL2020).
Warning Period: 46 days (ending 30AUG2020).
System birthday: 24APR2019.
Operating System: WX64_WKS.
Product expiration dates:
---Base SAS Software 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/STAT 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/GRAPH 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/FSP 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/AF 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/IML 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/ASSIST 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/CONNECT 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/EIS 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---MDDB Server common products 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/Secure 168-bit 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/Secure Windows 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS Enterprise Guide 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
2 The SAS System 15:19 Friday, August 16, 2019

---SAS/ACCESS Interface to PC Files 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS/IML Studio 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---SAS Workspace Server for Local Access 31MAY2020 (CPU A)
---High Performance Suite 31MAY2020 (CPU A)

For Base SAS Software ...
Custom version information: 9.4_M6
Image version information: 9.04.01M6P110718
For SAS/STAT ...
Custom version information: 15.1
For SAS/GRAPH ...
Custom version information: 9.4_M6
For SAS/FSP ...
Custom version information: 9.4_M6
For SAS/AF ...
Custom version information: 9.4_M6
For SAS/IML ...
Custom version information: 15.1
For SAS/ASSIST ...
Custom version information: 9.4
Image version information: 9.04.01M0P061913
For SAS/CONNECT ...
Custom version information: 9.4_M6
For SAS/EIS ...
Custom version information: 9.4_M6
For High Performance Suite ...
Custom version information: 2.2_M7
For SAS/ACCESS Interface to PC Files ...
Custom version information: 9.4_M6

[SASKiwi]

@AlexL - I suggest you open a track with SAS Tech Support as they are best able to diagnose differences between EG versions. I've already had a defect entered for 8.1 regarding PROC COMPARE behaviour being different to 7.1, so it doesn't surprise me you are finding another somewhere else.

[CaseySmith]

@AlexL, I recommend trying the "Unlock all open data before running code" option (in EG's Tools->Options->Data->Performance).  By default, EG 8.1 only unlocks data that it knows was created by the program you are about to run.  Checking that option will result in EG unlocking *all* the data open in data views in that EG session, which reduces the possibility of resource contention.

If that option does not accomplish your goal, I second contacting Tech Support, so we can get more details on the problem you are encountering.  EG has always used member-level locking (even prior to 8.1), unless using SAS/SHARE, but that should not impede you.  In fact, improvements have been made in 8.1 related to data locking...  we now only hold the lock for 3 minutes of inactivity by default and then release it under the covers without closing the data grid.  Prior to 8.1, the lock was held as long as the data was open in the grid.  The grid would be closed after 30 mins of inactivity, thus releasing the lock.

Casey