Re: Do you think sas programmers should only use sas?

RolandRB <rolandberry@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
I get the impression that sas programmers, more than other programmers
(except perhaps COBOL), tend to only know sas and not other languages.
Do you think this is true? And if so, is this a good thing or a bad
thing?


Roland,

Remember that many SAS programmers are not programmers at all in terms of their formal education. Many, myself included, are SAS users, not programmers. For us, the fact that the user interface to SAS is structured, modular, top-down, and structurally similar to our native language often makes SAS the only USEABLE language available to us. The other languages are just too obtuse in their symbols and structure for professionals in non-programming fields to seriously consider using them for daily tasks.

The issue of efficiency often arises at this point. The people who claim that some other language would be more efficient for some particular task rarely take into consideration the extra time, and programmers' salaries, that other languages would require, not to mention the extra upkeep in the future. When these are added to the efficiency equation SAS usually turns out to be far more efficient. Everyone in SAS knows that 1 SAS programmer = 10 COBOL programmers in terms of volume of work per unit time. Plus there are many programs that can be written in SAS that just cannot be written in many of these other languages.

In summary, SAS is a unique tool for a unique customer base. Many SAS users do not learn another language because they do not need another language. SAS is far more comprehensive that the other languages. Also, I can write, execute, and debug my SAS programs faster than I can explain to a programmer what I need done.

Someone, recently stated in this forum that statisticians should not be allowed to program. Likewise, programmers should not be allowed to analyze data, even when given explicit instructions by a statistician. SAS solves this dilemma by providing statistical functions and procs that even a statistician can figure out. I would revise the statement to read, " Statisticians should only be allowed to program in SAS."











Jim Simmons, Ph.D.
Texas Education Agency
Austin, Texas

"The Road Goes on Forever,
The Party Never Ends . . ." Robert Earl Keen, Jr.