Chapter 1. Let's Get Started—Preliminaries and a SAS Quick Start

1.1 Statistical Computing versus Programming versus Managing Data 4

1.2 Good Programming Practice 4

1.3 SAS Program Structure 9

1.4 What Is a SAS Data Set? 16

1.5 Internally Documenting SAS Programs 18

1.6 Summary 19

1.7 References 19

1.8 Exercises 19

Let's begin with a working definition for statistical programming, and then follow with a description of the structure and appearance of a good statistical program. A short overview of the DATA step and procedures is presented with simple, but realistic examples. This provides a quick start for getting up and running with SAS programming.