Chapter Contents

Previous

Next

Using CEDA to Create a File

In order to create a file in a non-native (or foreign) format for a supported member type, use the OUTREP= option in the LIBNAME statement or in the DATA step.

Specified in the LIBNAME statement, the OUTREP= option applies the designated format to all files that are created in the specified library. However, specified in the DATA step, the designated host format is limited to the specified data set.

Note:   The OUTREP= option in the LIBNAME statement or in the DATA statement does not support MDDB. CEDA supports MDDB files for read-only access.  

The illustration below shows how CEDA is used to create a file.

Using CEDA to Create a File in a Foreign Format for Read, Write, and Update Access

This figure shows the designation of a file in a foreign file format for access by a specific remote host. Source host A uses the OUTREP= option in either a LIBNAME or a DATA statement to create a file in foreign format B. Doing so allows remote host B to quickly and efficiently access the network-mounted file (for read, write, and update operations) because no internal format translation is required.

Using the OUTREP= Option in the LIBNAME Statement

As an example, suppose that you use a UNIX host to create data sets that contain academic grades. However, the data entry and processing personnel who read and write these data sets use Windows hosts. In order to accommodate the needs of Windows users, you designate a non-native format for all data sets that are created and will be created in a SAS library by using a LIBNAME statement. Here is an example:

libname grades '/dev/app/unc' outrep=windows;

The libref GRADES points to the location for the application and its data sets, which will be created in WINDOWS format.

See Host Format Values for supported values for the OUTREP= option.

For complete details about the LIBNAME statement, see SAS Language Reference: Dictionary and the companion documentation that is appropriate to your operating environment.

Using the OUTREP= Option in the DATA Step

The difference between using OUTREP= as an option in the LIBNAME statement and as an option in the DATA step is that the DATA step restricts the host file format only to the specified data set.

In this example, data set CHEM.GRADES is created in Windows format.

data chem.grades (outrep=windows);
  input student $ test1 test2 final;
  datalines;
Fred 66 80 70
Wilma 97 91 98
  run;

Refer to the following section for supported values for the OUTREP= option.

For complete details about the DATA step, see SAS Language Reference: Dictionary.

Host Format Values

Supported values for host-format are:

	ALPHA_OSF
	ALPHA_VMS
	HP_UX
	MVS (specified for files in a Version 8 UNIX System Services Directory on an OS/390 host)
	OS2
	RS_6000_AIX
	SOLARIS
	VAX_VMS
	WINDOWS
	MIPS_ABI (Introduced in Version 8, includes HP_UX, RS_6000_AIX, and SOLARIS)
	INTEL_ABI (Introduced in Version 8, Silicon Graphics (SGI) only, which was formerly included in MIPS ABI for SAS Release 6.11)

Chapter Contents

Previous

Next

Top of Page

Copyright 1999 by SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved.