SAS 9.1 Companion For Unix Enivronments

Introduction to Interactive Line Mode

You enter SAS statements line by line in response to prompts issued by SAS. SAS reads the source statements from the terminal as you enter them. DATA and PROC steps execute when

• a RUN, QUIT, or DATALINES statement is entered

• another DATA or PROC statement is entered

• the ENDSAS statement is entered.

To use interactive line mode, you must run SAS in the foreground.

Invoking SAS in Interactive Line Mode

To start an interactive line mode session, invoke SAS with the NODMS or NODMSEXP system option:

sas -nodms sas -nodmsexp

By default, SAS log and procedure output (if any) appear on your display as each step executes.

After you invoke SAS, the 1? prompt appears, and you can begin entering SAS statements. After you enter each statement, a line number prompt appears.

Exiting SAS in Interactive Line Mode

You can end the session by pressing the EOF key (usually CTRL+D; see "Using Control Keys" on page 23) or by issuing the ENDSAS statement:

endsas;