=========================================================================
Date:         Mon, 17 Jul 2006 15:52:01 -0500
Reply-To:     "Oliver, Richard" <roliver@SPSS.COM>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         "Oliver, Richard" <roliver@SPSS.COM>
Subject:      Re: SPSS 14 features, compatibilty and upgrade questions
Comments: To: Richard Ristow <wrristow@mindspring.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Just to clarify: One of the major benefits of multiple datasets is the ability to merge data from multiple data sources -- without requiring the intermediate step of saving each one in the form of an SPSS data file first. The  example below, from the Command Syntax Reference, shows how you could merge data from an SPSS data file, and Excel file, and a database table.

GET FILE='c:\examples\data\spssdata.sav'.
SORT CASES BY ID.
DATASET NAME spssdata.
GET DATA /TYPE=XLS
  /FILE='c:\examples\data\excelfile.xls'.
SORT CASES BY ID.
DATASET NAME excelfile.
GET DATA /TYPE=ODBC /CONNECT=
 'DSN=MS Access Database;DBQ=C:\examples\data\dm_demo.mdb;'+
 'DriverId=25;FIL=MS Access;MaxBufferSize=2048;PageTimeout=5;'
 /SQL='SELECT * FROM main'.
SORT CASES BY ID.
MATCH FILES
 /FILE='spssdata'
 /FILE='excelfile'
 /FILE=*
 /BY ID.

-----Original Message-----
From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Richard Ristow
Sent: Monday, July 17, 2006 2:53 PM
To: SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: SPSS 14 features, compatibilty and upgrade questions

At 12:15 PM 7/17/2006, O'Connor, Patricia (OTDA) wrote:

>Below Marc mentioned being able to with multiple datasets [in SPSS
>14].         What is meant by datasets?
>- Multiple flat files / txt files
>- multiple tables in ONE database  (table1a & table2b in Oracle1)
>- Multiple tables in two databases (table1a in Oracle1 & table2b in
>Oracle2)
>- Multiple table in two types of databases (table1a in Oracle1 &
>table2d in Access2003)
>- Those above plus something else?

Watch, as well, for what anyone from SPSS, Inc., posts.

However, SPSS 14 uses 'dataset' in a particular way. It's essentially a generalization of the 'working file' or 'active file' that we all know and, mostly, love: It's now called a 'dataset', and there can be more than one of them open at a time. (So, there can be more than one Data Editor window open.) The working file - what procedures read, what transformations write - is now the 'active dataset.'

You can use a 'dataset' in some of the ways you can use a scratch saved file; that is you can ADD FILES and MATCH FILES from datasets other than the active one, but not SAVE FILE or XSAVE FILE to a dataset.
(Shhhh - for GET FILE, you can cheat: use ADD FILES, naming only the dataset you want.)