Glossary

A-C

access descriptor

a SAS/ACCESS file that describes data that is managed by a data management system. After creating an access descriptor, you can use it as the basis for creating one or more view descriptors.

active window

a window that is open , is displayed, and to which keyboard input is directed. Only one window can be active at a time.

aggregate storage location

a location on an operating system that can contain a group of distinct files. Different host operating systems call an aggregate grouping of files different names , such as a directory, a maclib, or a partitioned data set. The standard form for referencing an aggregate storage location from within SAS is fileref(name), where fileref is the entire aggregate and ( name ) is a specific file or member of that aggregate.

application work space (AWS)

a window that contains other windows (child windows ) or from which other windows can be invoked, but which is not contained within any parent window that is part of the same software application.

ASCII

an acronym for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is a 7-bit character coding scheme (8 bits when a parity check bit is included) including graphic (printable) and control (nonprintable) codes.

ASCII collating sequence

an ordering of characters that follows the order of the characters in the American Standard for Information Interchange (ASCII) character coding scheme. SAS uses the same collating sequence as its host operating environment.

autoexec file

a file that contains SAS statements that are executed automatically when SAS is invoked. The autoexec file can be used to specify some SAS system options, as well as librefs and filerefs to data sources that are used frequently.

See also fileref.

See also libref.

background process

in UNIX environments, a process that executes independently of the shell. When a command is executing in a background process, you can enter other commands or start other background processes without waiting for your initial command to finish executing.

batch file

a file that contains operating-system commands, which are processed sequentially when the file is executed.

batch mode

a method of executing SAS programs in which a file that contains SAS statements plus any necessary operating environment commands is submitted to the computer's batch queue. After you submit the program, control returns to the terminal or workstation, where you can perform other tasks . Batch mode is sometimes referred to as running in the background. The program output can be written to files or printed on an output device.

Under UNIX, place statements that you want to execute in a file. Then specify that file when you run SAS in the background.

buffer

an area of computer memory that is reserved for use in performing input/output (I/O) operations.

button

a component of a graphical user interface. A button is usually in the form of a rectangle or square that contains a label. The button is programmed to execute a command, to open a window, or to perform some other function when a user selects it. For example, many graphical user interfaces include buttons that have labels such as OK, Cancel, and Help.

catalog

See SAS catalog.

catalog entry

See SAS catalog entry.

class name

a name that provides a way to group individual X resources together. For example, DMSboldFont and DMSFont are two separate X resources, but they are both part of the Font class.

client

(1) a computer or application that requests services, data, or other resources from a server. (2) in the X Window System, an application program that interacts with the X server and can perform tasks such as terminal emulation or window management. For example, SAS is a client because it requests windows to be created, results to be displayed, and so on.

command line

the location in any SAS windowing environment window designated with Command ===>.

command prompt

the symbol after which you enter operating system commands. In UNIX environments, different shells use different command prompts. The default command prompt for the Bourne shell and the Korn shell is $, and the default prompt for the C shell is %.

configuration file

in SAS software, an external file that contains SAS system options. These system options take effect each time you invoke SAS.

container window

any SAS window that contains interior windows.

converting SAS files

the process of changing the format of a SAS file from the format that is appropriate for one version of SAS to the format that is appropriate for another version in the same operating environment.

current directory

the directory you are working in at any given time. When you log on, your current directory is the starting point for relative pathnames.

See also working directory.