An Introduction to the SAS System Dileep K. Panda Directorate of Water Management Bhubaneswar-751023
[email protected] Introduction The SAS – Statistical Analysis System (erstwhile expansion of SAS) - is the one of the most widely used Statistical Software package by the academic circles and Industry. The SAS software was developed in late 1960s at North Carolina State University and in 1976 SAS Institute was formed. The SAS system is a collection of products, available from the SAS Institute in North Carolina. SAS software is a combination of a statistical package, a data – base management system, and a high level programming language. The SAS is an integrated system of software solutions that performs the following tasks: Data entry, retrieval, and management Report writing and graphics design Statistical and mathematical analysis Business forecasting and decision support Operations research and project management Applications development At the core of the SAS System is the Base SAS software. The Base SAS software includes a fourth-generation programming language and ready-to-use programs called procedures. These integrated procedures handle data manipulation, information storage and retrieval, statistical analysis, and report writing. Additional components offer capabilities for data entry, retrieval, and management; report writing and graphics; statistical and mathematical analysis; business planning, forecasting, and decision support; operations research and project management; quality improvement; and applications development. In general, the Base SAS software has the following capabilities A data management facility A programming language Data analysis and reporting utilities Learning to use Base SAS enables you to work with these features of SAS. It also prepares you to learn other SAS products, because all SAS products follow the same basic rules.