Hi, SAS_Rob-   Thanks. From the posting dates, it looks like this issue might have become documented because of my original post (which also suggested one of the workarounds)!     Any idea if the SAS Team is going to fix the underlying issue? The workarounds work, but, for the reasons I pointed out, aren't optimal.    Many thanks, David ... View more

Hi, Sonika-   Honestly, I would consider the possibility of learning another statistical programming language like Python or R. SAS is a great package that has relatively easy implementation of most statistical methods and it's widely used in several fields, including mine (public health), academia, and banking. I use it every day, mostly because a lot of our processes were developed on SAS.    But my sense is that it's a legacy language that is being superseded by newer languages, including the two I've mentioned above. Python is more for data science (putting together workflows, pulling in data from different sources, joining the datasets together, etc.) and R is more for statistical analysis. Other prominent programs and tools include Tableau (dashboards), ArcGIS (maps), and SQL (database management), but there are several more programming languages worth considering.    If you're embarking on a career as a SAS programmer, of course learning SAS will boost your career! If I were starting anew, though, I would first choose a programming language to learn then figure out the best way to learn it. Some of the things you'll probably take into account when choosing the programming language are: 1) what languages are most prevalent in the field you want to go into? 2) What do you want to do with those languages--do statistical analyses, manage databases, build dashboards, etc.? And 3) what's the best way to learn the programming language I've decided on?   So, perhaps do a little investigating about the field you want to go into (talking to people in the field, Internet searches, etc.) Once you've decided on the best language, figure out what your objectives are in learning it. It sounds like, based on your experience in clinical data management, that maybe it's more "data architecture" and putting databases together. If that's the case, I would consider Python or SQL.   Finally, in choosing how to learn the language, consider your learning style: are you an independent learner who prefers to set her own pace or do you thrive more on structured learning environments?  Whatever program you decide on, there will be lots of free tutorials online. For me, I like having a class and an instructor, with regular meetings, goals set by an instructor, and so on. There are many online courses offered both by commercial vendors (like Coursera) and university extension programs (I think Arizona State U. is prominent in online education). Also, there are probably inexpensive courses you could take in person at a local community college.   Whatever program you start out with, whether SAS or something else, knowing several languages will make you more valuable in the job market. The good news is once you know one, learning a second is much easier!  One last thing: even if you think database management and data architecture are your thing, it's always a good idea to have a basic grasp of statistics. It should be easy to find introductory statistics courses online or at a community college.    Sorry this is so long-winded, but I hope it's helpful!    Good luck, David   P.S. Many, many congratulations on your baby! I've always thought that bringing a kid into the world is a radical act of hope.  ... View more

Have done so. I'll let you know the outcome. ... View more

Hi, Cynthia-   Many thanks. I was able to get the data from the links you provided.    I really appreciate your taking the time to send them to me.    Best, David ... View more

Hi, Cynthia-   Thanks for your response.    I work for the California Department of Public Health, which uses SAS products, including Viya and paid licenses for other products (SAS 9.4, SAS EGP), extensively.    I am looking for the COMMSDATA file because I checked out the book "Machine Learning with SAS Viya" from the California State Library, available to California state employees. Though I have taken SAS's courses before, I am not taking one on machine learning (ML) now. (Unfortunately, due to a state budget shortfall, there's no money right now for training--hence, the self-taught modality.)     I am using SAS Viya and the Model Studio to formulate machine learning models (decision trees, random forests, etc.) on real data for the department. I will then compare ML in SAS Viya with tools available in R and Python to make department-wide recommendations. I would like to work through the exercises in the book, but I can't find the COMMSDATA--or any of the others referred to in the book--anywhere.    Many educational books on statistical learning make practice data sets available, including on book websites. I have to imagine that there's some place these datasets are available for those who purchase, or otherwise get legitimate access to, the educational books that the SAS Institute puts out. As you know, these practice datasets and exercises are a crucial part of didactic books' utility.    In sum, I just want the datasets to work through the exercises in the book--that's all.    Thanks, David ... View more

Hi, Tom-   Thanks for your reply and sorry to be responding to a 1.5-year-old post. I had posted on this topic a few days ago, but haven't received a response.    I appreciate your steering me to the SAS Learners page, but I'm still unable to find the datasets. I'm not seeing any "Software Launch" tab.    I'd be grateful if you could send some more explicit instructions about where to find the data repositories.    Thanks, David ... View more

Hi, Rachel- I'm also looking for this dataset as I read "Machine Learning with SAS Viya." I don't have the "CPML35" folder or "cas-v4e073-default". I've looked everywhere on SAS Studio and these data, along with the other datasets referenced in the book, are nowhere to be found. Do you know of a repository or a book website where I could find the datasets? It's really frustrating to want to work through the examples but not be able to because the data are nowhere to be found! Thanks, David ... View more

Hi, all-   The solution turned out to be stripping the datasets of their formats, then importing them into SAS Studio. Two ways to remove the formats are:    1) Exporting the data to a .csv file with PROC EXPORT:     proc export data=data.climate23_nf   outfile='H:\CHIS\Data\climate23_nf.csv'   dbms=csv   replace; run; 2) Removing the formats manually from within a data step with this code:  data data.climate23_nf; set data.climate23; format _numeric_ ; format _character_ ; run; I did both steps as part of preprocessing in SAS EGP and saved the files to a local directory. I then imported the files in SAS Studio using Build Models --> New Project --> browse for data --> Import --> Local Files.         ... View more

Hi, Tom-   I'm attaching the following .pdf's:  1) Pipeline (SAS5.pdf) 2) Data tab (SASData.pdf)   And for good measure:  3) Project creation interactive dialog (SASProject) 4) Error message (SASError)   This is one of several errors I get when creating or trying to open the project. When I try to open the project from the "Projects" screen, I get: "The project could not be opened and returned the following status: creatingProviderError [Details] The advisor for project "MLClimate" could not be executed".    I would greatly appreciate any help you could provide.    Thanks, David ... View more

Thanks for this suggestion.   I had searched R for analysis of survey data. There's the "survey" package, but SAS is far superior to R for analyzing complex survey data. The R "survey" package doesn't even support cross-tabulations; I had to write a function to "trick" the package into doing a crosstab. R has no package for mediation analysis with complex survey data.  ... View more