SQL for Advanced SAS Programming – Learn Hand-On

This course is designed to introduce advanced techniques of SAS programming using Structured Query Language (SQL). This course will help you to prepare for advanced SAS certification exams (SQL part).

SQL stands for Structured Query Language. According to ANSI (American National Standards Institute), it is the standard language for relational database management systems.SQL is one of the many languages built into the SAS System. Using PROC SQL, the SAS communicates with powerful data manipulation and query tool. Topics covered will include selecting, subsetting, sorting and grouping data–all without the use of DATA step code or any procedures other than PROC SQL. THE STRUCTURE OF A SQL QUERY SQL is a language build on a very small number of keywords:

• SELECT: columns (variables) that you want

• FROM: tables (datasets) that you want

• ON: join conditions that must be met

• WHERE: row (observation) conditions that must be met

• GROUP BY: summarize by these columns

• HAVING: summary conditions that must be met

• ORDER BY: sort by these columns

For the vast majority of queries that you run, the seven keywords listed above are all you’ll need to know. There are also a few functions and operators specific to SQL that can be used in conjunction with the keywords above. SELECT is a statement and is required for a query. All the other keywords are clauses of the SELECT statement. The FROM clause is the only one that is required. The clauses are always ordered as in the list above and each clause can appear, at most, once in a query. The nice thing about SQL is that, because there are so few keywords to learn, you can cover a great deal in a short duration. So, let’s get on with the learning!