Using a Next Workstation As a Development Platform for Version 5 Sas Applications
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
USING A NEXT WORKSTATION AS A DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM FOR VERSION 5 SAS APPLICATIONS Joseph E St Sauver, Office of University Computing, University of Oregon ABSTRACT Similarly. there is liUle sense in tieing up a PC for hours (or days) running a large statistical analysis when a sha.red SAS Institute has yet to announce any firm plans to port the mainframe will often have abundant horsepower to handle just SAS System* to NeXT* workstations. Nonetheless, a NeXT those sorts of CPU-intensive jobs. workstation can serve as an excellent platform for developing VAXNMS· (or other mainframe) SAS System code for remote The PC version of SAS atte~s to explott this philosophy by execution. giving the user the option of either processing SAS code locally using the SUBMIT command, or processing SAS code on a The combination of a strong windowing environment, display remote mainframe SAS host using the RSUBMIT command. In a PostScript support. a built-in athemet interlace and copious perfect world. this approach would allow the user to elect the slorage eapacny bundled on lOP of more-or-Iess BSD 4.3 UNIX" best mix of local and remote resources to achieve his or her make development of SAS System code on the NeXT for objectives in a timely and cost effective manner. remote execution on another mainframe quite easy. Unfortunately, in my experience, the happy symbiosis The author's experience with use of a NeXT as a remote code envisioned between the PC version of the SAS System and the development plaHorm for SAS and SAS/Graph" on a VAXNMS mainframe version of the SAS system often breaks down. For system is outlined, and some SAS·from·a·NeXT tips and example, perhaps the user must rely on a 2400 (or even 1200 techniques are described. baud) serial communication line between her P .C. and a mainframe - waiting for data to transfer can be an incredible While this discussion is couched in the context of working from a source of frustration and wasted time. As another example, disk NeXT workstation, much of what is said is equally applicable to space (on a mainframe and/or PC) Is virtually always limit~. other networked windowing workstations. This raises some and often insufficient for the jobs that need to be run. A third important questions about both the sales prospects of example of how the envisioned symbiosis may break down workstation versions of the SAS System and the SAS System's arises when different suites of program products are purchased evolutionary path in general. for different platforms .. that is, maybe you have virtually everything SAS Institute offers on your mainframe. but only INTRODUCTION Base SAS and SAS Statistics licensed for PCs. These and many other factors impede the happy potential symbiosis between a AHhough there are some hints Ihat the SAS Institute may be "desktop" version of the SAS System and a mainframe version contemplating porting Ihe SAS System to the NeXT (including of that product. listing "Implement the SAS Syslem on the NeXT Computer" as lopic 523 in the SUGI 15 SASware Ballot), the Institute has yet Using a NeXT workstation as a development platform for jobs to officially announce any firm plans to release a NeXT version submitted to a remote mainframe running the SAS System, on of the SAS System. the other hand. allows one to circumvent many of the limitations one experiences with the remote execution paradigm when While this is an ongoing disappointment to some NeXT·using using the PC Version of the SAS System. SAS System afficionados, a NeXT workstation can be used (w~hout any further delay) as an excellent plaHorm for THE NEXT AS A REMOTE EXECUTION PLATFORM developing VMS (or other maintrame) SAS code for remote execution. That is, today's NeXT users can already do most of Because the NeXT is a relatively new machine, and because their SAS·related work in the familiar NeXT environment, using a networked mainframe only as a SAS computational "back there has been a relatively large amount of both positive and negative "hoopla" about it, I'll try to provide a brief, more or less end". objective precis of the system for those of you who haven't had a chance to actually sit down and work with one. The remainder of this paper will: • explain the remote·execution paradigm, The NeXT computer (or "cube") is based on a 25 MHz Motorola • briefly describe the NeXT, 68030 microprocessor (Ihe same chip used in the Macintosh IIci " discuss some nuts-and-boHs issues about using SAS from machine), augmented by a Motorola 68882 floaling point un~ a NeXT workstation, and a Motorola DSP56001 dig~al signal processor. The NeXT • show a sample SAS session run from the NeXT, and finally, comes (standard) w~h 8 megabytes of RAM, a 11' 1120x832x2 • mention some of the implications of the remote execution 94 DPI Mega-Pixel display, buiH-in ethernel support, two senal paradigm. ports, a 256 megabyte readlwrite optical disk. a custom keyboard and a two.-t)utton mouse. THE REMOTE EXECUTION PARADIGM Many users purchase an (optional) 330 megabyte or 660 megabyte hard disk for improved disk 110 pertormance, although The idea of developing SAS System code on one platform and a 40 megabyte hard disk caChe' (to hold swap files) is now then submitting that code for execution on another remote provided to improve the performance of optical disk.anly cubes. system is one that the SAS Inst~ute noelf has popularized wnh their PC version of lhe SAS System. Essentially, the key idea in Software provided with the cube includes the NeXTStep/M.ach thaI approach is that each element of a distributed computing operating system (including more-<lr-Iess-BSD UNIX), ObJect system should handle the tasks n is best able to accomplish. Oriented GNU C, Common lisp, Mathematica, WriteNow. and TeX. Thus, for example, there is little need to edit files on a A 400 OPt NeXT laser printer is also available. mainframe (using the comparatively primative editing tools available there). when microcomputers and workstations offer far more powerful mouse.ariented full·screen editing tools. 1519 Some of the NeXTs much-touted features (such as voice mail, .vtlOO-keymap the NeXT's Interface Builder application, the complete works of Shakespeare online, etc.) "demo well" but are essentially Add the following lines to that file: irrelevant to the day-to-day meat-and-potato computing done by most users, including most SAS System users. keycode 21=KP Separator keycode 38=KP=Fl However, there are four substantive features of the NeXT which keycode 39=KP~F2 do materially contribute to making it an attractive workstation for keycode 40=KP~F3 SAS System users. Those four features are: keycode 37=KP_F4 (1) A built-in ethemet connection supporting TCP/IP. This gives Save the file. Then add the following fine to your. cshrc file: the NeXT user the ability to employ TELNET and FTP to easily run SAS jobs (buitt on a NeXT) on a remote networked alias vt100-keys xmodmap -/.vtlOO-keymap mainframe. Now launch the NeXT X Windows server by double clicking on (2) A strong windowing environment, with choice of either the the X icon. NeXT's native NeXTStep window graphic user interface, or X11 R3 X Windows. Launch the NeXT's terminal application, and declare your server's address with the statement: (3) A readlwrite optical disk, which allows SAS users to buy an essentially unlimited amount of disk storage for only $50/256 % setenv DISPLAY unix:O.O megabytes, a feature which is particularly attractive to SAS System users working with large datasets, and, finally, Launch a X Windows window manager (such as twm) if you want to, then remap the live "odd" keypad keys by entering: (4) The NeXT's use of Display PostScript, which means you can easily view SAS/Graph PostScript output right on screen. % vt100-keys You're now ready to launch xterm as a background task by None of these features are essential to SAS System users by entering the command: any means, and it is certainly true that most of these features can be added to other vendor's workstations on a piecemeal % xterm & basis, but NeXT is the only workstation vendor that provides an integrated system offering all four of these rather DESIRABLE Move your cursor to the xterm window, and proceed to telnet out features in a single package. to the remote mainframe running the SAS System. When you invoke SAS/FSD on that machine, your keypad will function correctly as a VT100 keypad -- all VT100 keys are located physically where they "should" be. GETTING THE NEXT READY FOR USE WITH SAS: If you need on-screen Tektronix emulation under X Windows, Specifically, NeXT has negligently failed to configure their use the xterm -t qualifier for clean on-screen 4010/4014 keyboard to send VT100-like escape codes from the keypad, graphics. IBM mainframe users who need 3270 terminal even when a user is using the NeXT's (nominally-Vn 00- emulation can launch tn3270 from under xterm (see emulating) Terminal application. % man map3270 on the NeXT for In3270 keypad mapping information) . While thiS may be only a minor nuisance under some circumstances, it is a truety intolerable situation for proficient One thing you'" quickly notice when working with the SAS SAS users since SAS's lull screen display manager System from the NeXT is that the screen paints virtually implementation relies on access to the vn 00 keypad for the instantaneously, making it a pleasure to work with full-screen majority of its functionality.