SAS Tutorial for Beginners
What is SAS?
SAS (Statistical Analysis System) is a software system used for data inspection and report writing. Statistical Analysis System is a group of programs that works collectively in order to improve and to hold data values, reform data, evaluate complex and single exponential analyses and generate reports.
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Some of the features that make it a leader in the field of business analytics are as follows:
- The editing key sequences used in Windows are applicable in SAS
- Able to read data in multiple formats ASCII, delimited data, hierarchical data and excel data
- Performs critical functions such as mathematics, data and time processing, character processing, etc.
Equipped with a rich set of datasets, variables, operators, loops, functions, input methods, etc., SAS allows the users to save the files in following formats making the system easy, flexible and user-friendly:
Extensions in which SAS saves the files:
| *.sas |
SAS code file to be coded by the SAS editor |
| *.log |
SAS log file containing errors, data set details, etc. |
| *.mht/*.html |
SAS result file |
| *.sas7bdat |
SAS data file includes datasets |
Preparing Data for SAS:
In order to use the Statistical Analysis System, Data should be in an Excel table format or SAS format. It is necessary to understand how the data should be organized in tables so that it can be able to run on SAS.
Starting SAS:
There are three windows appear when Statistical Analysis System is opened. The left window is called the Results/ Explorer window. The leading window contains the Log window, the Editor window, and the Output window. To toggle among the windows, the tabs along the bottom are used.
The Explorer/Results Window:
To browse SAS libraries, program files and the outcome of exponential methods, Results/ Explorer Window are used which is on the left side of the screen. The Results/Explorer Window is used to discover SAS data sets and other SAS-associated records. Data sets that have been imported into SAS will be found under Libraries in Sasuser or Work. Sasuser stored the data until it is explicitly deleted by the user, while Work automatically cleared the data when the program is closed. Both Results Window and the Output Window is used to look at the final outcome of exponential methods.
Statistical Analysis System (SAS) Tutorial Video:
The Editor Window:
To generate, modify, and execute Statistical Analysis System programs, Program Editor Window is used. Here, any data manipulation and analytical tasks can be performed through the writing of code that instructs SAS how to process the data. To save the code created by SAS Analyst for editing, to generate a record of observation/analysis, or to re-run an analysis in the future the Program Editor can be used. The Output window is used to visualize the output from the program.
The Output Window:
To view the results originated from the submitted program, the Output window is used. Statistics in Output window can be viewed for getting the results, printed, or saved for future purpose. The Output generates in the Output window can be saved as a text file and then edited, if required in any supporting tool or application like Microsoft Word.
The Log Window:
To check a program for errors, the Log window is used. The Log window also accommodates essential summary details about the errors that occurred during the program. In the Log window, the blue color is used to highlight comments and red color is used to highlight error messages.
Getting Data into SAS:
To import data into SAS, an Excel file can be used in a predefined format in Data sets. To convert the data into the form required by SAS, Open the Calculating machine data from the web page in Excel and save it. Each row will be considered as a single observation, and the columns will contain statistics on the machine (A/B), the replicate (1 to 10), and the noticed time for the calculation. To import data into SAS, Simply select File -> Import Data and follow the directions.