Dear SAS-L-ers,

MJ posted the following interesting question:

>What are your top ten tips for a programming interview? I am trying to >prepare. > >I'll start with #11 - don't be late!

MJ, on a lighter note, here is #12 - Impressing your interviewer by interspersing your interview with some items designed to impress the interviewer with your vast knowledge of the SAS System. Here are some of the ones that have netted me BIG jobs:

"My biggest problem with the SAS System is that it does not run on very many platforms. The SAS Institute should make it scaleable and portable so that I can run it on different platforms and under different operating systems."

"I'm still waiting for the SAS programming language to include SQL."

"One of the things that I like the most about the SAS programming language is how similar it is to the COBOL programming language. I am particularly adept at programming the Environment Division of a SAS program."

"Since there are only a handful of SAS programmers in the world, I am quite a catch."

"SAS stands for: Statisticus Analysisus Systemus, which any scholar will tell you is Latin for SPSS."

"If the SAS Institute staff were really smart, they would position the SAS System to take advantage of the booming Data Warehouse market."

"I've been to the SAS Institute's world headquarters in Redmond Washington several times. I've even met it's President, Dr. James Goodbar."

"The "DO WHILE" statement is known as the "Stalactite DO" since it is evaluated at the top. The "DO UNTIL" statement is known as the "Stalagmite DO", since it is evaluated at the bottom."

"The substring function works best when used on double-precision numerical data."

"When I need to fix a SAS program with a hard-to-find error, I just put a "%MEND" at the bottom and rerun it."

"The PLOT Procedure is hard to follow."

"An example of a 'SAS expression' is: 'Don't forget the semicolon'".

"I enjoy running the SAS Display Manager in batch!"

"The SAS Macro language can not be used on Micro Computers."

"There is no future in programming in Version 9 of the SAS System. I am going to stay with Version 6."

"The SAS System would be greatly improved if it included some procedures that could calculate statistics."

"The SAS Log is basically a waste of time and effort. I never use it, because it only prints bad news, anyway."

"In the SAS System, records are called "observations", data fields are called "variables", collections of related data are called "data sets" and programs are called "flop-muffins".

"The difference between 'Informats' and 'Formats' is that 'Informats' are used on the INSIDE of SAS programs."

"To ensure the greatest level of readability and ease of maintenance, I code over 95% of my SAS programs in the SAS Macro language."

"I sometimes code: PROC OPTIONS; without the "RUN;" statement just to keep my options open."

"A known SAS programming trick is: If you code a 'DROP' statement and a 'KEEP' statement for the same variable in a data step, you will see a bright flash on your monitor as they cancel each other out."

"You can only open SAS data sets in 'open code'".

"The 'WHERE' clause can only be used to subset geographical data."

"The 'BY' statement identifies the author of a SAS program."

"In the SAS System, SAS catalogs are used to store the latest pricing information on outdoor sporting gear."

"If the SAS Institute were really a responsible company, they would solicit feedback from their users, pour one third of their revenue into Research and Development, host a yearly SAS user's conference, and create a WEB site."

Best of luck to you in your interview; I hope that you get the job!

I hope that this suggestion proves helpful now, and in the future!

Of course, all of these opinions and insights are my own, and do not reflect those of my organization or my associates. All SAS code and/or methodologies specified in this posting are for illustrative purposes only and no warranty is stated or implied as to their accuracy or applicability. People deciding to use information in this posting do so at their own risk.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Michael A. Raithel "The man who wrote the book on performance" E-mail: MichaelRaithel@westat.com Author: Tuning SAS Applications in the MVS Environment http://www.sas.com/apps/pubscat/bookdetails.jsp?catid=1&pc=55231 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Game over man! Game over! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++