7
CHAPTER
2
SAS Names and Support for
DBMS Names
Introduction to SAS/ACCESS Naming
7
SAS Naming Conventions
7
SAS Name Literals
8
SAS/ACCESS Default Naming Behaviors
9
ACCESS Procedure
9
DBLOAD Procedure 9
Options that Affect SAS/ACCESS Naming Behavior
10
Naming Behavior When Retrieving DBMS Data
10
Naming Behavior When Creating DBMS Objects
11
SAS/ACCESS Naming Examples
12
Replacing Unsupported Characters
12
Preserving Column Names
13
Preserving Table Names 14
Using DQUOTE=ANSI 15
Using Name Literals 17
Using DBMS Data to Create a DBMS Table 17
Using a SAS Data Set to Create a DBMS Table 18
Introduction to SAS/ACCESS Naming
Because some DBMSs allow case-sensitive names and names with special characters,
you must show special consideration when you use the names of DBMS objects (such as
tables and columns) with SAS/ACCESS features. This section presents SAS/ACCESS
naming conventions, default naming behaviors, options that can modify naming
behavior, and usage examples. See the documentation for your SAS/ACCESS interface
for information about how SAS handles your DBMS names.
SAS Naming Conventions
SAS naming conventions allow long names for SAS data sets and SAS variables. For
example, MYDB.TEMP_EMPLOYEES_QTR4_2000 is a valid two-level SAS name for a
data set. The conventions also allow case-sensitive or mixed-case names for SAS data
sets and variables. A variable name can be long and deļ¬ned in mixed case, such as
Q4HireDates.
The following SAS language elements can be up to 32 characters in length:
members of SAS libraries, including SAS data sets, data views, catalogs, catalog
entries, and indexes
variables in a SAS data set
