Does SAS store data in memory?

SAS attempts to allocate enough buffers to hold the entire data set in memory. If enough memory is available, then the entire data set is kept in memory until the data set is closed. If enough memory is not available, then SAS allocates as many buffers as it can.

How do I allocate more memory to SAS?

SAS does not automatically reserve or allocate the amount of virtual memory that you specify in the MEMSIZE system option. SAS uses only as much memory as it needs to complete a process. For example, a DATA step might require only 20 MB of memory, so even though MEMSIZE is set to 500 MB, SAS uses only 20 MB of memory.

How difficult is it to learn SAS?

SAS is easy to learn and provides easy option (PROC SQL) for people who already know SQL. Even otherwise, it has a good stable GUI interface in its repository. In terms of resources, there are tutorials available on websites of various university and SAS has a comprehensive documentation.

Does SAS use RAM?

For the most part, memory is allocated as needed during the running step, then released when the step is complete. Some SAS procedures can use a lot of memory during the course of their work, and you can run out of memory when working with large data or data sets with large cardinality.

How does SAS handle big data?

One can think of making a large SAS dataset smaller by using SAS statements like LENGTH or dataset compression tools like COMPRESS option to save the storage space. Reducing the size of the dataset can also help in reducing the time SAS takes to read or access data from a dataset.

How can I improve my SAS performance?

1) Read only data that is needed from external data files. 2) Minimize the number of times a large dataset is read by subsetting in a single DATA step. 3) Use KEEP= or DROP= data set options to retain only desired variables. 4) Use WHERE statements to subset data.

What are global options in SAS?

System options are global instructions that affect the entire SAS session and control the way SAS performs operations.