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Session #: Developing SAS Applications using Microsoft .NET

Session #: Developing SAS Applications using Microsoft .NET . The Statistics Canada Perspective. 2009. April 15-16, 2009. Jim Brisbane Systems Development Division. When do we run SAS from .NET?. When we need a customized UI because of:

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Session #: Developing SAS Applications using Microsoft .NET

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  1. Session #: Developing SAS Applications using Microsoft .NET The Statistics Canada Perspective 2009 April 15-16, 2009 Jim Brisbane Systems Development Division

  2. When do we run SAS from .NET? • When we need a customized UI because of: • Many input parameters (metadata) for SAS, requiring validation • A need to store SAS output and make it available across a group of users through the UI • A need to add SAS processing to the functionality of an existing .NET application Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  3. Why .NET? • In the past the UI was developed using SAS Application Frames (SAS/AF) • Now SAS recommends .NET or Java • Users are on Windows PC’s • Using databases and MS Office • .NET interfaces well with these apps Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  4. Three ways to run SAS from .NET 1) Process.Start() 2) SAS’s Integrated Object Model (IOM) 3) As a “custom task” in SAS Enterprise Guide (a .NET application provided by SAS) Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  5. Outline of the Presentation • Introduction (done!) • Running SAS using process.start() • Running SAS using SAS’s IOM • Getting XML data from SAS • Real-life applications at Stat Can • Design issues and the Stat Can Application Development Framework for .NET (SADF) Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  6. Process.start() To run SAS from the command line: C:\Program Files\SAS\SAS 9.1\sas.exe c:\MySASCode.sas -log c:\MySASCode.log -print c:\MySASCode.lst –nosplash To run SAS from .NET: Process.Start("sas.exe", args) where args = “c:\MySASCode.sas -log c:\MySASCode.log -print c:\MySASCode.lst –nosplash” Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  7. Process.start() • String manipulation is easy in .NET • So we read user input from the form, construct the args string, and run process.start Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  8. Process.start() • Alternatively, create a Windows script file that contains the command to run SAS • Run the script using process.start() • Convenient if we have a lot of script commands creating Windows environment variables for SAS • Examples: name of the survey to process, network path and name of the input data file, etc Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  9. Process.start() Windows script example set InputData = c:\mysaswork\survey23\data\inputs\sample55.sas7bdat set ProcessingOption = 4 set LogFile = c:\mysaswork\survey23\logs\sample55.log set Listing = c:\mysaswork\survey23\listings\sample55.lst set SAS = "C:\Program Files\SAS\SAS 9.1\sas.exe" set SourceCode = c:\mysaswork\source\bigjob.sas %SAS% %SourceCode% -log %LogFile% -print %Listing% -nosplash data in red from the .NET UI Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  10. Process.start() SAS code example %let indat = %sysget(InputData); %let option = %sysget(ProcessingOption); • One line of code, executing sysget, gets the value of each Windows variable • 2 variables were passed to SAS, another 2 were used directly in the command to run SAS Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  11. Process.start() Script creation from a template set InputData = #SUB1# set ProcessingOption = #SUB2# set LogFile = #SUB3# set Listing = #SUB4# set SAS = "C:\Program Files\SAS\SAS 9.1\sas.exe" set SourceCode = #SUB5# %SAS% %SourceCode% -log %LogFile% -print %Listing% -nosplash Parts previously in red have still to be added Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  12. Process.start() 'READ THE TEMPLATE Dim TemplateFileStream as New FileStream(TemplateFileName,FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read) Dim TemplateStreamReader as New StreamReader(TemplateFileStream) Dim Template as String = TemplateStreamReader.ReadToEnd() 'SUBSTITUTE THE RIGHT PARAMETERS. VALUES WERE READ FROM TEXTBOXES 'OR OTHER CONTROLS INTO STRING VARIABLES Template = Template.Replace("#SUB1#", SASInputFileName) Template = Template.Replace("#SUB2#", Option) < and so on, for SUB3, SUB4, SUB5> 'WRITE THE SCRIPT FILE Dim ScriptFileStream as New FileStream(ScriptFileName, FileMode.OpenOrCreate,FileAccess. Write ) Dim ScriptStreamWriter as New StreamWriter(ScriptFileStream) ScriptStreamWriter.Write(Template) ' EXECUTE THE SCRIPT Process.Start(ScriptFileName) Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  13. Process.start() • Template files can be included in the VS project, and in the assembly after deployment • Or store only 1 copy for all users at a permanent network location • Then a change in only 1 place reconfigures the app for all users Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  14. Process.start() • After the SAS process is started, it is a separate process • It continues to run after the user shuts down the .NET application • Usually we don’t try to get information back from the SAS program, because it takes a long time to run Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  15. Process.start() • Before running SAS, the .NET application can: • Check all required input files exist • Validate the input parameters • Write input parameters to: • XML files which SAS code can read • Windows script variables which SAS code can read Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  16. Process.start(): Running SAS on a network server Client PC Server User input from the form Script template file SAS .NET application Launch SAS Final script SAS Grab script Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  17. Process.start(): Running SAS on a network server ‘RUN SAS FROM .NET Process.Start("sas.exe", args) ------------------------------ /*SAS CODE CREATES A SAS SESSION ON A SERVER*/ OPTIONS NOXWAIT NOXSYNC; %LET SERVNAME = MYSERVER; OPTIONS REMOTE = SERVNAME; SIGNON SERVNAME USERNAME =_PROMPT; /*THEN RUNS A WINDOWS SCRIPT FILE ON THE SERVER*/ RSUBMIT CONNECTWAIT=NO; OPTIONS NOXWAIT NOXSYNC LS=256; X ""“#SUB NAME OF SCRIPT FILE#"""; ENDRSUBMIT; Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  18. Process.start(): Processing a batch list Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  19. Process.start(): processing a batch list • When the user clicks “add to batch”, an item is added to the list • When the user clicks “submit batch”, the list is written to disk: \\myserver3\sharename\incomesurvey\project2\data\year3.xml \\myserver3\sharename\incomesurvey\project4\data\group7.xml \\myserver3\sharename\taxsurvey\project5\data\tax4.xml • then the SAS process is started • here, each list item is a file of XML metadata about the SAS job • the metadata includes the network paths and filenames for survey data to be processed • The SAS code contains all the logic to process each item Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  20. Process.start(): using XML • Convenient to write an XML file if there are a large number of input parameters to be specified • If you have the parameters in a .NET datatable object, you can write them out with 1 line of code Me.SomeDataSet.MyDotNetTable.WriteXML(StrFileName) • All metadata from MyDotNetTable is written to an XML file with path and filename stored in StrFileName Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  21. Process.start(): using XML • The XML data contains a table name tag containing the name of the .NET datatable object it came from <?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?> <ISDTAB_METADATADataSet xmlns="http://tempuri.org/ISDTAB_METADATADataSet.xsd"> <MyDotNetTable> …………………………. ……………………. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  22. Process.start(): using XML SAS Code reading the XML: %let XMLFileName=%sysget(MyInputXML); libname MYXML xml "XMLFileName"; data mydata; set MYXML.MyDotNetTable; /* SAME NAME AS THE .NET DATATABLE*/ run; Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  23. SAS IOM Server Client PC Host name, Port number, User id, password SAS object spawner .NET application Create the session SAS objects SAS session • Spawner provides .NET with a TCP connection Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  24. SAS IOM • A set of COM DLL’s (come with base SAS) • Data from SAS gets read into .NET objects • Allows the user to browse SAS data files on the form • Provides more interaction with the SAS session C:\Program Files\SAS Institute\Shared Files\Integration Technologies or: C:\Program Files\SAS\Shared Files\Integration Technologies • Available from the SAS web site (“SAS Integration Technologies Client”) Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  25. SAS IOM In Visual Studio: • Select “add reference” from the project menu • Dialog box pops up, select the COM tab • If base SAS is installed, the list will include 10 to 20 references provided by SAS • List is alphabetical and their names begin with “SAS” • Two most important ones: • SAS object manager (sasoman.dll) • Its type library, the SAS IOM Type Library (sas.tlb) Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  26. SAS IOM Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  27. SAS IOM • Type libraries are used to create a “run-time callable wrapper” • Translates between .NET data types and COM data types • If SAS is not installed, the COM dll’s need to be manually added to the Windows registry, before you can see them in Visual Studio Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  28. SAS IOM: Points to note: • If the user shuts down the UI while the SAS job is still running, the SAS job is killed • SAS IOM is not a .NET standard, so could increase maintenance cost / effort • SAS IOM provides security when a client is running jobs on a server • And SAS IOM is essential when the client must run jobs on a server which is not running Windows Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  29. SAS IOM : The Main Classes • SAS.Workspace • SAS sessions are objects of this class, but can’t be instantiated directly • SASObjectManager.ObjectFactory • contains the CreateObjectByServer method which is used to create SAS.Workspace objects • SASObjectManager.ServerDef • Used to create the server object - contains data about the server on which the SAS session is to be created Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  30. SAS IOM : The Main Classes • SAS.LanguageService – this class contains the Submit method, used to submit SAS code for execution • SAS.Workspace.FileService • contains methods for manipulating files through the SAS session • DeleteFile • ListFiles • RenameFile • MakeDirectory Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  31. SAS IOM Argument list for CreateObjectByServer • Name of the session (workspace) to be created • Boolean = true if the session is to be created before the next line of .NET code executes • The server object (null if the session is local) • User id (empty string for a local session) • Password (empty string for a local session) Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  32. SAS IOM : Example – connecting to SAS on Unix from a .NET client (Labour Statistics Division, Survey of Employment, Payroll and Hours) • Survey data is commonly processed using SAS programs on Unix • There is a shortage of people who can use Unix • The programmer created a class called SASConnection • contains a method called Connect, which takes a server name, userid, and password connector = SASConnection.Connector; connector.Connect("lsdsas", txtUserid.Text, txtPassword.Text); Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  33. SAS IOM : Example – connecting to SAS on Unix from a .NET client (C#) private SASObjectManager.ServerDef server = null; public SAS.Workspace clientWorkspace; private SASObjectManager.ObjectFactory clientFactory = new ObjectFactory(); public void Connect(string host, string uid, string pwd) { if (!local) { server = new ServerDef(); server.Port = PORT; server.MachineDNSName = HOST; } clientWorkspace = (SAS.Workspace)clientFactory.CreateObjectByServer( CLIENT, SYNCH, server, uid, pwd); Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  34. Using SAS with .NET: Real-life applications at Stat Can • The DTD Framework (Distributive Trades Division) • Uses the IOM and is SADF-compliant • The QRCS Adapter (Distributive Trades Division) • Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey • Uses the IOM and is SADF-compliant • Farm Income and Prices Section Data Integration Project (Agriculture Division) • Using SAS to produce reports • still under development Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  35. Using SAS with .NET: Real-life applications at Stat Can • The ISDTAB user interface (Income Statistics Division) • Uses Windows scripts to submit long-running SAS jobs • Metadata describing each job is stored and retrieved from SQL server • The SEPH user interface (Labour Statistics Division) • Uses the IOM to run SAS on Unix • Still under development Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  36. Design Issues To process large amounts of data, you need 3 physical tiers, often shown like this: metadata Data (large volumes) Client PC Database server Data processing server (business logic) Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  37. Design Issues What solution have I been working on? - The ISDTAB Interface • We used 3 physical tiers with the .NET app only on the client PC • The .NET app writes the metadata to XML files (anywhere on the Windows network) and launches a long-running SAS job on a Windows server Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  38. Design Issues The ISDTAB interface: Call up SAS on the server Database server (MS SQL Server, metadata only) Data processing server (business logic implemented in SAS) Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  39. SADF Has 5 logical layers (based on the documentation): 1) Presentation (the form) 2) Application (code behind the form) 3) Service (communication between the client and the data processing server) 4) Business (in our case = running SAS on the data processing server) 5) Data access (in our case = metadata downloads and updates against SQL Server) Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  40. SADF: Part of the .NET application runs on the processing server: Metadata (small volume, .NET remoting) Metadata (small volume) Client PC running layers 1,2,3 Database server Data processing server running layers 4,5 (Running SAS for the business logic – high volume data processing) Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  41. In conclusion: • SAS is a powerful tool for large-scale processing of survey data • A lot of Stat Can’s business logic is implemented in SAS • Complex but repetitive processing can be automated using SAS with a user-friendly .NET interface • We need to learn more about developing SADF-compliant applications for running SAS from .NET • More conclusions about how to use SAS with .NET and SADF will follow Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  42. Yves DeGuire Joel Orr Vecdet Mehmet-Ali Luc Bigras Jim Brisbane For more information contact: The SAS Technology Centre, R.H. Coats Building, 14th Floor, Statistics Canada, 100 Tunney's Pasture Driveway, Ottawa ON K1A 0T6 E-mail: Yves.Deguire@StatCan.gc.ca Facsimile: 613-951-0607 Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  43. Getting data from SAS using XML Writing an XML file from SAS /*MYXMLFILE IS A WINDOWS ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE CONTAINING THE PATH AND FILENAME - COULD BE PASSED FROM THE .NET APP*/ %let XMLFileName=%sysget(MyXMLFile); libname MYXML xml "XMLFileName"; /*CUSTOMERS IS A DATA FILE IN SAS FORMAT*/ data Customers; input customerID CustomerFirstName $ CustomerLastName $; cards; 1 Bob Smith 2 Joe Brown 3 Phil Jones ; run; data MYXML.Customers; set Customers; run; Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  44. Getting data from SAS using XML Contents of the XML file <?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252" ?> <TABLE> <CUSTOMERS> <CustomerID> 1 </CustomerID> <CustomerFirstName> Bob </CustomerFirstName> <CustomerLastName> Smith </CustomerLastName> </CUSTOMERS> <CUSTOMERS> <CustomerID> 2 </CustomerID> <CustomerFirstName> Tom </CustomerFirstName> <CustomerLastName> Brown </CustomerLastName> </CUSTOMERS> <CUSTOMERS> <CustomerID> 3 </CustomerID> <CustomerFirstName> Phil </CustomerFirstName> <CustomerLastName> Jones </CustomerLastName> </CUSTOMERS> </TABLE> Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  45. Getting data from SAS using XML Reading the XML data into .NET (VB) ' CREATE A NEW DATATABLE Dim Customers as DataTable = New DataTable("Customers") ' READ THE XML FILE INTO THE DATATABLE Dim MyXMLStream as New System.IO.FileStream(MyXMLFile,System.IO.FileMode.Open) Dim MyXMLReader as New System.Xml.XmlTextReader(MyXMLStream) Customers.ReadXml(MyXMLReader) MyXMLReader.Close() Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

  46. Getting data from SAS using XML The .NET datatable object: • easy to bind to form controls • allows editing • easy to write back to XML • the .NET equivalent of a database table Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

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