SAS 9.1 Language Reference Concepts

Definition of SAS Data Views

A SAS data view is a type of SAS data set that retrieves data values from other files. A SAS data view contains only descriptor information such as the data types and lengths of the variables ( columns ), plus information that is required for retrieving data values from other SAS data sets or from files that are stored in other software vendors ' file formats. SAS data views are of member type VIEW. In most cases, you can use a SAS data view as though it were a SAS data file.

There are two general types of SAS data views:

native view

• is a SAS data view that is created either with a DATA step or with PROC SQL.

interface view

• is a SAS data view that is created with SAS/ACCESS software. An interface view can read data from or write data to a database management system (DBMS) such as DB2 or ORACLE. Interface views are also referred to as SAS/ACCESS views . In order to use SAS/ACCESS views, you must have a license for SAS/ACCESS software.

  Note: You can create native views that access certain DBMS data by using a SAS/ACCESS dynamic LIBNAME engine. See 'SAS/ACCESS Views' on page 546, or the SAS/ACCESS documentation for your DBMS for more information.