Step order in Process window

[deleted_user]

Hello,

sorry for my bad english, I'm writing to you from Germany. I'm currently switching over from MS Analysis Services to SAS and to evaluate Enterprise Guide.

I try to do some ETL steps in EG. I assigned librefs with the LIBNAME statement, opened and joined tables with Query Procs and uses LIBNAME to deallocate the librefs.

The Project works fine if I run it step by step:
1. LIBNAME ...
2. Open Table ...
3. Join ... and write back
4. LIBNAME ... CLEAR

But when I run the whole project I get multiple error messages. Reason is that step 1, 2 and 4 execute the same time, which doesn't work of course.

Is there any way to set a step order?

Thank you for your answer and sorry for my english,
Sandro Kürschner

[ChrisHemedinger]

Sandro,

EG 3.0 runs project items as arranged in the flow: left to right, top to bottom.

In EG 4.1 you can connect your tasks/programs together in the flow by "drawing" lines between them, like so:

LIBNAME code--->Open Table code--->Join/writeback--->LIBNAME Clear

This guarantees the execution order. Also, there is a tool called Ordered List that allows you to group a set of tasks/programs in whatever sequence you like and run them as a unit.

Chris

[deleted_user]

Thank you for this info, I'll try it instantly!

[deleted_user]

Along the same lines (somewhat), does EG 4.1 allow you to STOP the process flow should one of your code nodes fail. If an earlier step fails, can you prevent the rest of the process flow from running?
Message was edited by: rup45 at Apr 5, 2006 1:27 PM

[ChrisHemedinger]

Hi,

No, this is not in EG 4.1. However, it is being considered for a future release: a way to affect the process flow toward one action or another based on a set of conditions (such as an error).

Chris

[deleted_user]

I think it would be a great addition and will help when working through error handling especially. You are unable to use something like an ABORT statement when trying to terminate execution in EG - currently we're getting around this by coding conditional INCLUDES and/or macros.

Keep us all posted.

[NeilConstable]

EG4 has improved things slightly with regard to errors. In eg3 if a step failed then the process flow continued and could easily use old versions of the data which should have been generated in the failed step. In 4 there is a delete data sets and formats task enabling you delete generated data sets before you start. Then at least the whole thing fails and does not give apparently updated results based on old data.