SAS view
is a virtual data set that points to data from other sources. SAS views have a member
type of VIEW. For specific information, see Chapter 27, “SAS Views,” on page
669.
Note: The term SAS data set is used when a SAS view and a SAS data file can be used
in the same manner.
Descriptor Information for a SAS Data Set
The descriptor information for a SAS data set makes the file self-documenting. That is,
each data set can supply the attributes of the data set and of its variables. Once the data is
in the form of a SAS data set, you do not have to specify the attributes of the data set or
the variables in your program statements. SAS obtains the information directly from the
data set.
Descriptor information includes the number of observations, the observation length, the
date that the data set was last modified, and other facts. Descriptor information for
individual variables includes attributes such as name, type, length, format, label, and
whether the variable is indexed.
The following figure illustrates the logical components of a SAS data set:
592 Chapter 25 • SAS Data Sets