Using Enterprise Guide®

Effectively

BI09-2012

Tom Miron

Systems Seminar Consultants, Madison, WI

Using Enterprise Guide Effectively

Enterprise Guide is not a fancy

program editor!

EG offers a new window onto the

power of SAS software

Using Enterprise Guide Effectively

Enterprise Guide requires a different

perspective on system design…

Visual coherence vs. tight coding

Using Enterprise Guide Effectively

We will discuss the use of the EG

environment and…

Features of Enterprise Guide that can

make your applications more user

friendly and maintainable

What Is Enterprise Guide?

Enterprise Guide is not SAS

Enterprise Guide is a user interface for

SAS

Enterprise Guide Generates

SAS Code

%_eg_conditional_dropds(WORK.SORTTempTableSorted);

/* -------------------------------------------------------------------

Sort data set LE5274.HIERARCHYMAPFROMTERESA

------------------------------------------------------------------- */

PROC SQL;

CREATE VIEW WORK.SORTTempTableSorted AS

SELECT *

FROM LE5274.HIERARCHYMAPFROMTERESA

;

Enterprise Guide Architecture

Client–Server architecture

EG is not running SAS or running as a

SAS application

A server somewhere on your network is

running SAS

Enterprise Guide Architecture

Your EG Session

SAS server 1 SAS server 2 SAS server 3

Data 1 Data 2

Enterprise Guide Architecture

EG generates SAS code and sends it

to a workspace server for execution

Results are returned to your EG

session

EG Servers List

Enterprise Guide Architecture

SAS servers are usually set up for you

by a SAS administrator

The SAS BI client-server architecture is

a deep subject!

Client-Server Considerations

The OS of your EG session may differ

from the server OS

Example:

EG on Windows

workspace server on UNIX

Client-Server Considerations

UNIX file names are case sensitive

Record/line termination differs

Line Termination on

Windows and UNIX

Windows = CR/LF

UNIX = LF

Use INFILE termstr= option

EG Projects vs SAS Programs

In Enterprise Guide you work with

“projects”

An EG project is a single file (.egp)

Enterprise Guide Tasks

EG projects are a collection of tasks

Most tasks map to a SAS Procedure

Tasks are grouped into “Process Flows”

Enterprise Guide Tasks

EG Task List Window

List Data Task Interface

List Data Generated Code

%TRIM(%QSYSFUNC(DATE(), NLDATE20.)) at %TRIM(%SYSFUNC(TIME(),

TIMEAMPM12.))";

PROC PRINT DATA=WORK.SORTTempTableSorted

OBS="Row number"

LABEL

;

VAR oldCat oldLine newCat newLine;

RUN;

/* -------------------------------------------------------------------

End of task code.

------------------------------------------------------------------- */

EG Tasks vs Program Code

The code you can write will always be

more compact and efficient than that

generated by EG.

It doesn’t matter.

EG Tasks vs Program Code

Life cycle efficiency is what matters

Life cycle efficiency is highly dependent

on:

- Development effort

- Maintenance effort

EG Tasks vs Program Code

Life cycle efficiency is usually not

dependent on:

- The number of statements executed

- Absolute machine efficiency

EG Tasks vs Program Code

It doesn’t matter if EG generated 100

statements where you could written a

10 statement SAS program because…

You don’t have to write any statements

The Temptation

Experienced SAS programmers are

often tempted to open a program object

and start coding

The Rule for Effective Use of EG

Avoid programs and custom code like

the plague

Why Not Program?

Programs and custom code introduce a

“black box” to your EG project

The “No Program” Advantage

EG tasks have a consistent interface

across all projects

EG tasks constrain the user/developer

to valid options and settings

EG tasks minimize spelling and naming

ambiguities

The Downside

The downside of EG tasks is that

standard tasks may not offer options or

processes you need

It’s tempting to turn to programs and

inserted code…but don’t

Inserted Code

The “No Program” Upside

To maintain a project with no custom

code you need to know EG

To maintain a project that does contain

custom code you need to know EG and

understand the SAS programming

The Answer to Task Limitations

More tasks…

You can almost always duplicate the

processing of a well coded SAS

procedure or DATA step with a series

of EG tasks.

Done In One DATA Step

EG Alternative

Three Query tasks (SQL)

“But wait…three passes of the data is

less efficient than one!”

EG Alternative

Development and maintenance time for

you vs.…

Machine resource time

Is The EG Way OK?

Are there practical execution time

constraints?

What’s the marginal cost of accessing

data?

EG Project Design

Tasks are grouped into process flows

All process flows together make up

your EG project

Process Flows

It’s tempting to put all tasks into a

single process flow…which leads to…

A visual mess

A project flow that’s hard to understand

A project that’s hard to maintain and

modify

Process Flows and Lots of ‘Em

One processing function = one process

flow

One table = one process flow

Process Flows and Lots of ‘Em

Don’t be afraid of multiple process

flows in your project

Grouping tasks into logical process

flows is one of the greatest benefits of

using EG…don’t limit yourself

Example Process Flows

Set SAS options

Establish SAS libraries or external file

FILEREFs

Import data from a spreadsheet or

database

Example Process Flows

Validate or clean data

Create a report

Export results to PDF’s or

spreadsheets

Benefits of Multiple PF’s

Each process flow workspace grid has

a minimal number of objects on it so it’s

easier to grasp what’s going on

The EG project is modular and can be

developed, tested, and run step-by-step

Benefits of Multiple PF’s

Using consistent, meaningful process

flow names the project tree acts as a

high level flow chart and helps minimize

written documentation

You can quickly navigate through a

complex project with the EG project

tree

Common Process Flows

Standardize common process flows

from project to project

Use consistent names and position in

the process flow sequence

Some Common

Process Flow Names

“Documentation”

“Start Up”

“Wrap Up”

“SAS Libraries”

“Utility”

Process Flows and Lots of ‘Em

One function/table = one process flow

means…

Modularity

Easier to understand

Easier to develop and test

Easier to maintain/modify

Many Tasks =

Many Intermediate Tables

When you avoid custom code you often

end up with many intermediate tables

Keep these tables in a permanent

library because…

You can restart in the middle

They’re useful for testing and debugging

Disk space is cheap

Many Tasks =

Many Intermediate Tables

Keep intermediate tables and final

output in separate folders/libraries…

Different sharing options

Different servers

Local or network

Use Note Objects To…

Document program objects (if you must)

Use Note Objects To…

Document process flows

Use Note Objects To…

Document your project in the

“Documentation” process flow

EG Backup

EG projects are stored as a single

binary file (not plain text)

Always back up the .egp file

Back up to plain text with “Export All

Code…”

Export All Code In Project

Wrap Up

Effective use of SAS Enterprise Guide

requires visual thinking rather than

thinking in terms of efficient SAS

statement coding

Wrap Up

A good EG project is organized around

a clear and logical visual display of

linked components that requires a

minimum of additional written

documentation

Wrap Up

Avoid the use of custom SAS code,

either as program objects or user

modifications of EG tasks

When you use custom code you

introduce a black box process that

doesn’t benefit from the the built-in task

dialogs or context Help

Wrap Up

Don’t be afraid of using multiple EG

tasks to accomplish something that

could be done is a single SAS step

Use intermediate result tables to stage

data through your project

Wrap Up

Use multiple process flows to break

your project into logical components

Use standard names for common

process flows (“Documentation”, “Start

Up”, etc.)

Wrap Up

Make use of Note objects linked to their

subjects to document specific

processes

Back up your project as both a .egp file

and as plain text SAS code

Contact Information

Name: Tom Miron

Enterprise: Systems Seminar Consultants

Address: 2997 Yarmouth Greenway Dr.

City, State ZIP: Madison, WI 53711

Work Phone: 608 625-4541

Fax:

E-mail: tmiron@sys-seminar.com

Web: sys-seminar.com

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