What is the difference between base SAS codes and SAS EG codes?

[Yiting]

Hi, 

I am new here and just wonder what is the difference between base SAS codes and SAS EG codes?

[RW9]

EG contains SAS Base, so the programming should not need changing.  What will need changing is hardcoded paths - i.e. locations of files.  EG however is a different way of working, more of a graphical process flow with nodes where you can add import steps, or code nodes etc.  Quite difficult to provide any information, you would need to learn how EG works, its best practices etc. then see what each of your programs does and asses whether using inbuilt EG functions or processes would suffice or the code needs to go into a code node etc.  Basically you run through a migration process, evaluate the new system its functions and processess, evaluate what you have, then map between the two.  

[Yiting]

Hi, thank you for your reply! I have not used base SAS and only have used EG, but just click and point... not really used to programming in EG. So you mean that the codes in EG are the same as the codes in base SAS, but in base SAS, they do not have the process flow and work on static data tables. All I need to do is to set up the process flow and incorporate the base SAS codes into EG projects. Is that correct?

[RW9]

It could be.  SAS code is pretty much the same throughout the products.  Thats not all encompassing of course, there are modules that you can license in addition, and there are operating specific items etc.  You would need to assess each program and what it does, per any migration.  There is no just copy it here and everything will be fine I am afraid.

[Cynthia_sas]

Hi:
EG is NOT SAS. You are not programming in SAS, you are using Enterprise Guide as a front end interface/editor in order to write SAS code and then submit the code from EG to SAS on the server.

Someplace on your system, the SAS application's executable is resident -- just waiting for jobs/programs to come for processing.

There are many different interfaces to SAS -- the newest is SAS Studio, the oldest is SAS Display Manager for Windows. I have written programs one line at a time and submitted them from a TSO (mainframe) command line. I have used an ISPF editor to write SAS code. I've used VI (ick) on Unix to write SAS code and then submit it via a command line.

SAS code is SAS code, no matter what interface you use. Enterprise Guide writes SAS code with every point and click choice you make. Enterprise Guide also adds some extra "protection" code around the code it generates in order to keep you from doing something undesirable (like accidentally deleting your data).

But if you want to learn about the SAS code that EG is generating and if you want to learn how to change that code effectively and correctly, then take the free Programming 1 course. We have instructions in that course for how to make the data for any of the most current interfaces: SAS on Windows; SAS Enterprise Guide; SAS Studio via SAS University Edition; SAS Studio via SAS OnDemand for Academics. No matter which front end interface you use, the SAS code you learn in Programming 1 will work in Enterprise Guide.

You do have to use file names that are appropriate for your file system and method of using SAS. (For example, on SAS for Windows, you might be able to refer to your SASUSER library as a storage location, but sometimes EG folks or University Edition folks don't have write access to SASUSER on a server. But 95-99% of the code you learn in Programming 1 will be the same no matter what interface you use to write the code. The statements you most often have to change are: INFILE, FILE, LIBNAME, FILENAME and FILE= options. Plus there are a few commands that you can't use typically in EG, like the X command.

Here's the location where you can see the free training: https://support.sas.com/edu/elearning.html?ctry=us&productType=library Programming 1 is on the list.

Hope this helps,
Cynthia