How to Optimize Existing SAS

1
How to Optimize Existing SAS Programsfor
Generating Standard Reports

•  
• Teo Gamishev
• Office of Research and Statistics Columbia, SC

2
Whats in this topic?

• Most common practice on generating Standard
  Reports
• Is that a problem and how to get out of it?
• What is the advantage of Optimization?
• Step-By-Step Guide

3
Most common practice on generating Standard
Reports

• The basic steps of generating standard reports
  include all or some of the following processes
• Generating data extracts
• Downloading the extracts
• Importing the data into SAS
• Updating the existing database
• Generating the Reports

4
Most common practice on generating Standard
Reports

• Open the existing SAS program to change
• numerous dates
• variable names
• data set names
• file names
• titles
• Submit each one program
• Check for errors and move to the next program

5
Is that a problem?

• Somebody may try to convince you that this job
  is
• very inspiring
• very creative
• makes you happy
• takes a Bachelor or Master degree to get it?

6
How to get out of that situation?

• Use the available SAS tools to automate the
  process of updating the programs, completely
• In this presentation youll find just one of many
  affordable ways to do it

7
What is the advantage of Optimization?

• By applying that method, the time for just one
• of the standard report processes, has been
  reduced
• from 13 hours programmers time to 3 clicks
• of the mouse.
•  
• The overall outcome is creating
• ERROR FREE
• standard reports for a significantly shorter
  time.
•  
• The programmer is focused on
• quality control and researching the data.

8
 Step-By-Step Guide

• Step One Creating driving SAS program(s)
• Step Two Modifying the existing SAS programs
•  
• What do you need to know?-The places within the
  programs, where the changes occur.
•  
• You dont need to have a deep knowledge about the
  logic within the programs.

9
Step-By-Step Guide Step One Creating DRIVING
SAS Programs

• A simple approach suggests grouping all programs
  performing a similar task.
•  
• Example
• All JCL/SAS programs, generating the extracts on
  the Mainframe
• All SAS programs, importing the data files into
  SAS tables
• All SAS programs updating the main database(s)
• All SAS programs, generating the Reports

10
Step-By-Step Guide Step One Creating DRIVING
SAS Programs

• Create a new SAS Program DRIVING code
• The purpose of the DRIVING code is
• generate all macro variables youll need for the
  programs within that particular group
• create all new folders to export data or reports
• trigger all SAS programs within the same group

11
Step-By-Step Guide Generate all macro variables
youll need for the programs within that
particular group

• Example
• LET DATAMONTH 01mar2008 Your
  typing ends here!!!
• Data _null_
• first day of the data month
• dmfirst INTNX ('month',DATAMONTHd,0)
• last day of the data month
• dmlast INTNX ('month',DATAMONTHd,0,'end')
•  
• oylast INTNX ('month', dmfirst,-12)
• oylast INTNX ('month', dmfirst,-12,'end')
•  
• BAD EXAMPLE
• dmfirst INTNX('month',today(),-1)
• dmlast INTNX('month',today(),-1,'end')

12
Step-By-Step Guide Generate all macro variables
youll need for the programs within that
particular group

• Example
•  
• call symput('DMFD',put((dmfirst),DATE9.))
• call symput('BDMN',trim(left(put((bdmlast),
  MONNAME.))))
• call symput('CMFD', trim(left(put((cmfirst),
  DAY.))))
• call symput('YBDY', put((bdmlast), YEAR4.))
• call symput('DMMYY', put((dmfirst), MONYY5.))
• call symput('MM', put(month(dmlast), z2.))
• call symput('YY', put(dmfirst, year2.))
• put _user_

13
Step-By-Step GuideCreate all new folders

• Example
•  
• FILENAME lynn PIPE "mkdir ""E\DSP\ReportsDMMYY."
  ""
• data _null_
• infile lynn
• run
•  
•  
• Trigger all SAS programs within the same group
•  
• Example
•  
• include 'E\DSP\cap\Programs\01a.sas'
• include 'E\DSP\cap\Programs\01a_pt2.sas'

14
Step-By-Step Guide Step Two Modifying the
existing SAS programs

• replace all dates, variable names, datasets names
  and titles with the macro variables created
  within the DRIVING program
• create destination for the outputs/logs and
  redirect the output using
• PROC PRINTTO for text files
• ODS.TAGSET for Excel files

15
Step-By-Step Guide Step Two Modifying the
existing SAS programs

• Now is the time to solve all of the challenges
  like
•  
• How to update the JCL/SAS programs from SAS
• How to automate the data downloading process
• How to control the flow of the SAS program
• How to create custom time periods, like fiscal or
  state years
• How to automatically create new data set in the
  beginning of the new time period
• How to generate custom date FORMATs and INFORMATs
• How to read large number of datasets located in
  the same folder
• How to clean variables from bugs
• How to zip the data or the reports from within
  SAS
• How to clean the temp data and the macro
  variables

16
The Trigger ProgramTHE RUNNER
17
  Thank you

• References
• How to Optimize Existing SAS Programs for
  Generating Standard Reports, Teo Gamishev
•  
• Affordable SAS Tips, Teo Gamishev
•  
• Look for the articles in the membership area,
• coming next month!

18
South Carolina SAS Users Group