Now that I've slaved over code that other people will use, can I make it a read-only file?
I want people to save a copy in order to edit the export query.
Use the operating system's access control. (my preferred method for .sas files).
If it is part of an EG project, save the project in a folder in the metadata and set the access rights there.
And make a backup in a non-shared location...
Or use a version control system (SVN, GIT etc.), e.g. save the tool in your tools area, then version control external that code to your local project.
An other idea: put the part that may need editing into an include file, and have users make a local copy of that. The main program would then do a %inc '$HOME/something.sas'; and be saved without write access for the users. Have a provision for the log of every run to be saved permanently, so you can show it's the include that is causing the odd ERROR.
I you are wanting to make a program read-only because you are doing release management ...
That is you are following the process of: Develop Test Accept Production DTAP than design the host control accordingly and do some management arround that. (ITIL) .
This is the higher level process to think about.
Some technical approaches can help you to make thing easier around this. That are:
- reuse of accessable available components in the DTAP lifecycle. A filename approach (concat) with %inc is something.
- The needed host access controls are commonly known and rather good to understand
Some people have difficulties with the difference between horizontal and vertical.
- Let release-management by a vertical management eg DTAP approach
- Version-control has the goal on segerating the work of developers working in a project that is a horizontal approach.
vertical and horzizontal are two different directions.....
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