Chapter 1

Overview of SAS

Section 1.1

Overview of SAS

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Objectives Describe the difference between SAS the company

and SAS the programming language. List the components of Base SAS. Describe the value that SAS programming skills have

in the work world. List several companies, industries, and schools who

use SAS software and what they use SAS for. Compare the demand for SAS programmers to that of

other languages.

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SAS: The LanguageSAS, the programming language, has the following characteristics: is a 4th generation programming language is designed for data access, manipulation and

transformation, and analysis runs on all major computing platforms has a library of prewritten, integrated procedures

known as PROCs has easy-to-learn syntax

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SAS: The CompanySAS, the company, is known for the following: is the world's largest privately held

software company was incorporated in 1976 by

Dr. Jim Goodnight, a North Carolina State University statistics professor

employs over 10,000 people in 113 countries is consistently listed as one of the top 100 places in

the country to work can claim that 96 of the top 100 Fortune 500

companies use SAS provides free M&Ms to employees every day

Dr. Jim Goodnight, CEO

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Value of Learning SAS Programming

Locally:

25JUN2008

Monster.com listed 61 jobs in the RTP area needing SAS skills.

www.monster.com

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Value of Learning SAS Programming

Nationwide:

25JUN2008

Monster.com listed over 2400 jobs needing SAS skills.

www.monster.com

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Value of Learning SAS ProgrammingResults: June 2008

The TIOBE Programming Community index gives an indication of the popularity of programming languages.

The index is updated once a month.

Search engines calculate the ratings.http://www.tiobe.com/tpci.htm

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Who Uses SAS?

More than 43,000 business, government, and university sites in 108 countries rely on SAS.

Retail Life Sciences

Entertainment Colleges and Universities

Eddie Bauer Alcon® Carnival Cruise Lines

North Carolina State University

Brooks Brothers Monsato Expedia University of Central Florida

Autozone® Eli Lily and Company

MLB Advanced Media

Oklahoma State University

1-800-FLOWERS.COM

Diiachi NC Museum of Art University of Copenhagen

Section 1.2

SAS Certification

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Objectives Describe the benefits of the SAS certification process.

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SAS CertificationWhy become certified?

Becoming SAS-certified can do the following: increase your career opportunities and marketability enhance your credibility as a technical professional assess your knowledge of SAS software enable you to earn industry validation for your

knowledge

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SAS Certification

SAS offers five professional certifications. Each certification requires the successful completion of one or more exams to earn a credential.

This course teaches the content necessary for the SAS Certified Associate Programmer Credential for SAS®9.

You can find out more about this exam and other SAS certification exams at www.support.sas.com.

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SAS CertificationTaking this class does not guarantee that you will pass the associate certification exam, but should increase your knowledge and skills.

Required experience:

Successful candidates should have at least one year of current SAS programming experience and should be able to perform the following tasks: import and export raw data files manipulate and transform data combine SAS data sets create basic detail and summary reports using SAS

procedures identify and correct data, syntax, and programming

logic errors

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SAS CertificationSAS created a new credential for high school students called the SAS Certified Associate Programmer.

SAS Certified Associate Programmer Exam: available to high school students in November, 2008 50 multiple choice questions 32 questions answered correctly to pass (65%) two hours to complete the exam no access to SAS during the exam