Chapter 29
DICTIONARY Tables
Definition of a DICTIONARY Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
How to View DICTIONARY Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690
About Dictionary Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690
How to View a DICTIONARY Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690
How to View a Summary of a DICTIONARY Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690
How to View a Subset of a DICTIONARY Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
DICTIONARY Tables and Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
Definition of a DICTIONARY Table
A DICTIONARY table is a read-only SAS view that contains information about SAS
libraries, SAS data sets, SAS macros, and external files that are in use or available in the
current SAS session. A DICTIONARY table also contains the settings for SAS system
options that are currently in effect.
When you access a DICTIONARY table, SAS determines the current state of the SAS
session and returns the desired information accordingly. This process is performed each
time a DICTIONARY table is accessed, so that you always have current information.
DICTIONARY tables can be accessed by a SAS program by using either of these
methods:
• run a PROC SQL query against the table, using the DICTIONARY libref
• use any SAS procedure or the DATA step, referring to the PROC SQL view of the
table in the Sashelp library
For more information about DICTIONARY tables, including a list of available
DICTIONARY tables and their associated Sashelp views, see SAS SQL Procedure
User’s Guide.
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