SAS date constant
a string in the form 'ddMMMyy'd or 'ddMMMyyyy'd that represents a date in a SAS
statement. The string is enclosed in quotation marks and is followed by the character
d (for example, '6JUL01'd, '06JUL01'd, '6 JUL2001'd, or '06JUL2001'd).
SAS date value
an integer that represents a date in SAS software. The integer represents the number
of days between January 1, 1960, and another specified date. For example, the SAS
date value 366 represents the calendar date January 1, 1961.
SAS datetime constant
a string in the form 'ddMMMyy:hh:mm:ss'dt or 'ddMMMyyyy:hh:mm:ss'dt that
represents a date and time in SAS. The string is enclosed in quotation marks and is
followed by the characters dt (for example, '06JUL2001:09:53:22'dt).
SAS datetime value
an integer that represents a date and a time in SAS software. The integer represents
the number of seconds between midnight, January 1, 1960, and another specified
date and time. For example, the SAS datetime value for 9:30 a.m., June 5, 2000, is
1275816600.
SAS engine
See engine
SAS expression
a type of macro expression consisting of a sequence of operands and arithmetic
operators that form a set of instructions that are evaluated to produce a numeric
value, a character value, or a Boolean value. Examples of operands are constants and
system functions. SAS uses arithmetic expressions in program statements to create
variables, to assign values, to calculate new values, to transform variables, and to
perform conditional processing.
SAS file
a specially structured file that is created, organized, and maintained by SAS. A SAS
file can be a SAS data set, a catalog, a stored program, an access descriptor, a utility
file, a multidimensional database file, a financial database file, a data mining
database file, or an item store file.
SAS initialization
the process of setting global characteristics that must be in effect in order for a SAS
session to begin. SAS performs initialization by setting certain SAS system options
called initialization options. SAS initialization happens automatically when you
invoke SAS.
SAS keyword
a literal that is a primary part of the SAS language. For example, SAS keywords
include DATA, PROC, RUN, names of SAS language elements, names of SAS
statement options, and system variables.
SAS log
a file that contains a record of the SAS statements that you enter, as well as messages
about the execution of your program.
SAS name
a name that is assigned to items such as SAS variables and SAS data sets. For most
SAS names, the first character must be a letter or an underscore. Subsequent
804 Glossary