SAS/ACCESS Interface to SYSTEM 2000 Data Management Software: Reference

SYSTEM 2000 Stored Strings

When you include a SYSTEM 2000 where-clause in a view descriptor, you can either use where-clause syntax as explained in SYSTEM 2000 Where-Clause, or you can refer to a SYSTEM 2000 stored string. A stored string is syntax contained in a SYSTEM 2000 database definition that can be invoked by using the string number or name. Either a complete where-clause or a portion of one can be stored. For example, you can store part of a SYSTEM 2000 where-clause in the database, such as

   sex=female

Suppose you assign string number C1001 to the string. When you include a where-clause in a view descriptor, you can refer to the string number, for example,

   department=marketing and *c1001*

When the selection criteria are processed by SYSTEM 2000 software against the database, the result is

   department=marketing and sex=female

However, when the interface view engine confronts the view descriptor where-clause, the engine can check for errors only until it encounters the string reference. The engine cannot access the string definition at this point and therefore cannot expand the string to validate your syntax. Also, the engine cannot check the syntax that follows the string expansion; therefore, you must be more careful with the where-clause construction. However, the engine will append a SAS WHERE clause at the end of the view descriptor where-clause if this has not been done prior to the occurrence of a SYSTEM 2000 string reference.

Therefore, if you specify a stored string in a view where-clause, follow these rules in the where-clause syntax after the string reference:

Use only valid SYSTEM 2000 item component names or numbers.
Enter all keywords and any non-numeric values in uppercase.
Avoid using any connecting string.
Avoid using textual values containing significant blanks.

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