Fun With SAS and Emoji: What Might a Rebus-Influenced Programming Language Look Like?

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SAS Data Step & Proc Print Emoji Makeover

Remember those fun Highlights for Children stories in which words were replaced with pictures to help and engage young readers?

Ever wonder what that might look like in a programming language?

This WUSS 2025 paper takes a whimsical look at examples of rebus-flavored SAS and SQL code snippets and provides rudimentary SAS and Python preprocessor code snippets to translate text-based programs with emojis back into executable text-only code using both SAS's Unicode string 'K' functions and the Python regex package.

Paper available in WUSS 2025 Proceedings:
https://www.wuss.org/proceedings/2025/WUSS-2025-Paper-184.pdf

Slides (pptx, w/speaker notes) available on Microsoft OneDrive:
https://1drv.ms/p/c/de2f46cafc97a22d/EWBG6seBPWVAkvZSabrpwG0BdYYmvl61QvC-pjdYKgvI1w?e=kJ8Rep

Slides (pdf) available on Microsoft OneDrive:
https://1drv.ms/b/c/de2f46cafc97a22d/EXmiFfLvgBdLh_mYeO7i25ABe7naWCsqUETiX9U1h7UkGg?e=CAD5Ao

SAS Proc SQL Emoji Makeover

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Interestingly, even cloud-based Excel with Microsoft OneDrive appears to have its problems with complex emoji, getting it right in Edit mode, but wrong in Slideshow mode. 😀 

Editor - Cloud (Correct)Slideshow - Cloud (Incorrect)

Although Slideshow mode works fine when the OneDrive PowerPoint is opened in Desktop instead of the Cloud (slightly different emoji look though!).

Slideshow - Desktop (Correct)