SAS (software) - History - Versions

Versions

SAS 71

SAS 71 represents the first limited release of the system. The first manual for SAS was printed at this time, approximately 60 pages long. The DATA step was implemented. Regression and analysis of variance were the main uses of the program.

SAS 72

This more robust release was the first to achieve wide distribution. It included a substantial user's guide, 260 pages in length. The MERGE statement was introduced in this release, adding the ability to perform a database JOIN on two data sets. This release also introduced the comprehensive handling of missing data.

SAS 76

SAS 76 was a complete system level rewrite, featuring an open architecture for adding and extending procedures, and for extending the compiler. The INPUT and INFILE statements were significantly enhanced to read virtually all data formats in use on the IBM mainframe. Report generation was added through the PUT and FILE statements. The capacity to analyze general linear models was added.

79.3–82.4

1980 saw the addition of SAS/GRAPH, a graphing component; and SAS/ETS for econometric and time-series analysis. In 1981 SAS/FSP followed, providing full-screen interactive data entry, editing, browsing, retrieval, and letter writing. In 1983 full-screen spreadsheet capabilities were introduced (PROC FSCALC). For IBM mainframes, SAS 82 no longer required SAS databases to have direct access organization ( (DSORG=DAU), because SAS 82 removed location-dependent information from databases. This permitted SAS to work with datasets on tape and other media besides disk.

Version 4 series

In the early 1980s, SAS Institute released Version 4, the first version for non-IBM computers. It was written mostly in a subset of the PL/I language, to run on several minicomputer manufacturers' operating systems and hardware: Data General's AOS/VS, Digital Equipment's VAX/VMS, and Prime Computer's PRIMOS. The version was colloquially called "Portable SAS" because most of the code was portable, i.e., the same code would run under different operating systems.

Version 6 series

Version 6 represented a major milestone for SAS. While it appeared superficially similar to the user, major changes occurred "under the hood": the software was rewritten. From its FORTRAN origins, followed by PL/I and mainframe assembly language; in version 6 SAS was rewritten in C, to provide enhanced portability between operating systems, as well as access to an increasing pool of C programmers compared to the shrinking pool of PL/I programmers. This was the first version to run on UNIX, MS-DOS and Windows platforms. The DOS versions were incomplete implementations of the Version 6 spec: some functions and formats were unavailable, as were SQL and related items such as indexing and WHERE subsetting. DOS memory limitations restricted the size of some user-defined items. The mainframe version of SAS 6 changed the physical format of SAS databases from "direct files" (DSORG=DA) to standard blocked physical sequential files (DSORG=PS,RECFM=FS) with a customized EXCP macro instead of BSAM, QSAM or previously BDAM which was used through version 5 until the complete rewrite of version 6. The practical benefit of this change is that a SAS 6 database can be copied from any media with any copying tool including IEBGENER — which uses BSAM. In 1984 a project management component was added (SAS/PROJECT). In 1985 SAS/AF software, econometrics and time series analysis (SAS/ETS) component, and interactive matrix programming (SAS/IML) software was introduced. MS-DOS SAS (version 6.02) was introduced, along with a link to mainframe SAS. In 1986 Statistical quality improvement component is added (SAS/QC software); SAS/IML and SAS/STAT software is released for personal computers. 1987 saw concurrent update access provided for SAS data sets with SAS/SHARE software. Database interfaces are introduced for DB2 and SQL-DS. In 1988 SAS introduced the concept of MultiVendor Architecture (MVA); SAS/ACCESS software is released. Support for UNIX-based hardware announced. SAS/ASSIST software for building user-friendly front-end menus is introduced. New SAS/CPE software establishes SAS as innovator in computer performance evaluation. Version 6.03 for MS-DOS is released. 6.06 for MVS, CMS, and OpenVMS is announced in 1990. The same year, the last MS-DOS version (6.04) is released. Data visualization capabilities added in 1991 with SAS/INSIGHT software. In 1992 SAS/CALC, SAS/TOOLKIT, SAS/PH-Clinical, and SAS/LAB software is released. In 1993 software for building customized executive information systems (EIS) is introduced. Release 6.08 for MVS, CMS, VMS, VSE, OS/2, and Windows is announced. 1994 saw the addition of ODBC support, plus SAS/SPECTRAVIEW and SAS/SHARE*NET components. 6.09 saw the addition of a data step debugger. 6.09E for MVS. 6.10 in 1995 was a Microsoft Windows release and the first release for the Apple Macintosh. Version 6 was the first, and last series to run on the Macintosh. JMP, also produced by the SAS Institute, is the software package the company produces for the Macintosh. Also in 1995, 6.11 (codenamed Orlando) was released for Windows 95, Windows NT, and UNIX. In 1996 SAS announces Web enablement of SAS software and introduced the scalable performance data server. In 1997 SAS/Warehouse Administrator and SAS/IntrNet software goes into production. 1998 sees SAS introduce a customer relationship management (CRM) solution, and an ERP access interface — SAS/ACCESS interface for SAP R/3. SAS is also the first to release OLE-DB for OLAP and releases HOLAP solution. Balanced scorecard, SAS/Enterprise Reporter, and HR Vision are released. First release of SAS Enterprise Miner. 1999 sees the releases of HR Vision software, the first end-to-end decision-support system for human resources reporting and analysis; and Risk Dimensions software, an end-to-end risk-management solution. MS-DOS versions are abandoned because of Y2K issues and lack of continued demand. In 2000 SAS shipped Enterprise Guide and ported its software to Linux.

Version 7 series

The Output Delivery System debuted in version 7; as did long variable names (from 8 to 32 characters); storage of long character strings in variables (from 200 to 32,767); and a much improved built-in text editor, the Enhanced Editor. Version 7 saw the synchronisation of features between the various platforms for a particular version number (which previously hadn't been the case). Version 7 foreshadowed version 8. It was believed in the SAS users community, although never officially confirmed, that in releasing version 7 SAS Institute released a snapshot from their development on version 8 to meet a deadline promise. To some, SAS Institute recommending that sites wait until version 8 before deploying the new software was a confirmation of this.

Version 8 series

Released about 1999; 8.0, 8.1, 8.2 were Unix, Linux, Microsoft Windows, CMS (z/VM) and z/OS releases. Key features: long variable names, Output Delivery System (ODS). SAS 8.1 was released in 2000. SAS 8.2 was released in 2001.

Version 9 series

Version 9 makes additions to base SAS. The new hash object now allows functionality similar to the MERGE statement without sorting data or building formats. The function library was enlarged, and many functions have new parameters. Perl Regular Expressions are now supported, as opposed to the old "Regular Expression" facility, which was incompatible with most other implementations of Regular Expressions. Long format names are now supported. SAS 9.2 released in March 2008 and was demonstrated at SAS Global Forum (previously called SUGI) 2008. The new features are listed in the "What's New in SAS" web page. SAS 9.2 was released incrementally in three phases:

1. MVA-based products e.g. SAS/BASE, SAS/STAT, SAS/Graph. Nothing that relies on metadata. Limited availability from March 2008 because most users rely on the Metadata Server (see Phase 2) or products released in Phased 3.
2. Enterprise Intelligence Platform. Metadata Server for Business Intelligence (BI) and Data Integration. Availability from March 2009.
3. Client software for metadata driven analytics and business solutions. Enterprise Miner, Text Miner, Model manager. Solutions include Financial, Retail, Health & Life Science. Probably released in 2nd Quarter 2009.

SAS 9.3 was released July 2011 and was followed by a service release in December 2011.