It is almost impossible to teach yourself a programming language by reading the reference guide. A tourist in Jerusalem who wanted to go from the Jaffa Gate to the Western Wall bought a map and tried to find his way by himself. After a while, he stopped a local old-timer and asked him to show him the way on the map. The old-timer replied, “If you know the way, a map helps.” If you know the language, a reference guide helps.

The authors have attempted to write a self-instruction manual for the SAS language. Such a manual is certainly needed. The SAS Institute has published many excellent user’s guides, but I am not aware of such a comprehensive book that can be used for learning the language.

The intended reader appears to be an experienced data processing programmer who writes business applications on an IBM mainframe (using OS/MVS) or on a PC (using DOS). The authors claim, and I wholeheartedly agree with them, that while the database should be maintained and transactions processed in a database language, COBOL, or C, the reports should be generated in SAS. Therefore, businesses definitely need to teach SAS to experienced applications programmers. Since sending them to a formal course is expensive, the idea of a self-instruction manual is commendable.

The procedures covered in this book are PRINT, SORT, FREQ, CHART, PLOT, SUMMARY, and FORMAT. TABULATE is conspicuously absent. All the DATA statements are covered. Examples are given for using PUT both to create reports and to create flat files. Date and time variables could be elaborated on more.

The idea is that the programmer has access to SAS via a terminal or a PC and will run every example in the book and compare the results with the output printed in the book (both the log and the print). Of course, the learner should also try variations on the examples in order to see what happens.

A gap remains between the idea and its realization. It is unfortunate that all references to operating systems are in either JCL or DOS. SAS runs in many other environments. The book should at least have an appendix containing examples of the use of FILENAME and LIBNAME on other systems (such as TSO, VM/CMS, and UNIX). This would make it relevant to a much wider audience.

Second, I found inaccuracies in about 20 of the more than 100 examples that appear in the book. Some of these are errors in the program, some are errors in the verbal description, and some are discrepancies between the program and the output. The outputs are hardcopies of a PC screen. The programs are typed as part of the text. When the reader runs these examples, he or she will receive either an error message or an output that differs from the one in the book. This can be very frustrating for the reader who is trying to learn the language without the help of a teacher. I would also suggest that the page layout be redone so that program listings are not split at the bottom of a page. (This occurs many times, and one page ends in the middle of a statement).

A book of this nature is definitely needed. When the authors clean up the examples, I will be happy to recommend this book.