Writing SAS Primary Source Code

Create a Source Code definition of type Program in a SAS Program to hold the source code that accomplishes the business purpose of the Program: merging or transforming data and/or producing one or more figures, listings, or table reports.

You must designate the Source Code that serves this purpose as the primary Source Code so that Oracle Life Sciences Data Hub sends it to the SAS engine for execution. Its source code can call other Source Codes of type Program or Macro contained in the same SAS Program, or Oracle LSH Programs of type SAS Macro Catalog or SAS Format Catalog.

If you plan to launch the SAS development environment from Oracle LSH to write source code, you must first define a Program's source Table Descriptors, map them to Table instances, and install the Program and Table instances so that Oracle LSH can download the views or data for you to use.

Note:

Do not include the string error: in any SAS source code. Oracle LSH searches the Program execution log file for the string "Error:" and errors out the Program execution if it finds the string. The source code of the Program is copied into the log file. Therefore if you include "Error:" in your source code, the Program will fail.

Subcomponent References in SAS: You must refer to the defined subcomponents of the Program in your SAS source code as described in the following sections:

Table Descriptors: Oracle LSH Tables and Table Descriptors are compatible with SAS data sets. The Table is equivalent to a data set, and Table Columns are equivalent to a data set's variables.

Syntax. Write to each Table Descriptor defined within the Program as if it were a data set, using the syntax SAS_library_name.SAS_name. You must read from and write to the Table Descriptor, not the Table instance; if the name of the Table Descriptor or its Columns differ from the Table instance's, use the Table Descriptor's.

Target As Dataset. Because Program source code must write to Table Descriptors, and Table Descriptors are views, you should use Proc SQL statements to write to tables in Oracle LSH. However, Oracle LSH provides a feature to allow you to use existing SAS Programs written with data statements. The Target As Dataset attribute is available only in SAS Programs, and only for target Table Descriptors.

If you set this attribute to Yes, Oracle LSH adds a processing step to enable SAS data statements to write to Oracle LSH Table instances. This extra processing step results in slower performance but allows you to use existing programs.

Tip:

You can improve processing performance by selecting Target as Dataset and using the SQL*Loader. See SQL*Loader Processing for SAS Programs.

Select No if the Program's source code uses Proc SQL statements to write to tables. This results in optimal performance.

SAS Secondary Source Code Instances: In an Oracle LSH SAS Program you can create secondary Source Code instances of four types:

• SAS Macro Catalog. To use any of the macros included in Oracle LSH SAS Macro Catalog in a Source Code instance, create an instance of the catalog Source Code in your Program. Immediately before each execution of the Oracle LSH SAS Program the macros are compiled in the SAS work library. You can call them by name from the primary Source Code.

• SAS Format Catalog. To use any of the formats included in an Oracle LSH SAS Format Catalog in a Source Code instance, create a Source Code instance of the whole catalog in your Program. Immediately before each execution of the Oracle LSH SAS Program the formats are compiled in the SAS work library. You can call them by name from the primary Source Code.

• Macro. You can create a macro especially for use in the same Program where your primary Source Code is located. You can also create an instance of a sharable Source Code definition of type Macro from another SAS Program. Refer to individual Source Codes of type Macro in your primary source code by their name.

• Program. You can use another Oracle LSH SAS Source Code of type Program (not an Oracle LSH Program of type SAS Program) as an Include. If the Source Code definition is located in the same Program as your primary Source Code, refer to it by its name. If the Source Code definition is located in a different Program, refer to it by its SAS File Reference Name.

Paramters: For every input or output parameter in your SAS primary source code, you must define a Parameter in Oracle LSH and refer to it by its name in your SAS code. See Defining Parameters.

Planned Outputs: You must define a Planned Output to hold each report to be generated by a Program and refer to each one in the source code by its SAS File Reference Name. Oracle LSH automatically generates a Planned Output for the log file when you create the first Source Code in the Program. See Defining Planned Outputs.

You can successfully execute a SAS Program through Oracle LSH even if there are unplanned Outputs. If the SAS Program's validation status is Development, the system automatically generates a Planned Output with a file reference name created from the first eight characters of the Output file name in the source code. Ensure that the Output file name in the Source Code is enclosed in double quotations for Oracle LSH to identify.

If the required Output is a SAS data set, Oracle LSH can generate a Planned Output if the SAS Program's validation status is Development. You must define the new SAS data set inside the library named "Target". Oracle LSH then treats the Output data set as the SAS Program's target Table. The system compares the SAS data set filenames with those of the target Table Descriptors and if they match, loads data from the SAS data set into the mapped Table instance.

If the system does not find a target Table Descriptor, it checks out the Program, adds a new target Table Descriptor to it, creates a new Table instance in the Work Area and maps it to the newly created target Table Descriptor before installing the Program and the Table instance. Data is then loaded from the SAS data set into the mapped Table instance. Oracle LSH triggers separate jobs for each of these processes. The system does not support Proc SQL and Insert commands in the generation of unplanned data set Outputs.

Subsequent changes in source data set Table Descriptors must be matched in the target Table manually.

• Using a SAS Macro Catalog
  To use any of the macros contained in an Oracle Life Sciences Data Hub SAS Macro Catalog, you create a Source Code instance in the Program from which you need to call them.
• Using a SAS Format Catalog