Date:         Fri, 15 Oct 2010 07:12:33 -0400
Reply-To:     Nat Wooding <nathani@VERIZON.NET>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Nat Wooding <nathani@VERIZON.NET>
Subject:      Re: SAS on mainframes
In-Reply-To:  <003e01cb6c33$c5e62f80$51b28e80$@com>
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In addition to what Gerhard wrote, I will add a few comments.

As he said, on a mainframe, jobs are either run from a display window
similar to Windows or you use a non-SAS editor to make changes to your code
file and then submit this code to be run in batch. The code will have some
additional, non-SAS lines called Job Control Language (JCL) that will tell
the system how to run your job. When the job completes, you will use a
non-SAS tool to display the output. In my old shop, we used an IBM product
called ISPF that had a variety of tools for working with files and this
included the editor and output viewer. There are a very few features and
procs that are unique to the mainframe just as Windows has its own unique
features -- DDE and the sleep function are two Windows-only components.
Beyond these, the only differences are in how files are named. JCL can
actually be quite simple or it can be complex. I used the mainframe heavily
for most of my career and usually my JCL consisted of about 4 "cards".

In my opinion, the best way to get started on the mainframe would be to find
a willing mentor at the site and get a hour or two's hands on instruction. I
say "at the site" since each installation has specific rules on how things
are done and you need to learn these. Also, you will most likely need to
have an account set up on the mainframe so there would be paperwork to be
completed and authorized.

Nat Wooding

-----Original Message-----
From: SAS(r) Discussion [mailto:SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
bbser2009
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 2:40 AM
To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: SAS on mainframes

Hi there,



Could anyone tell me what's the big difference between Windows SAS and
mainframe SAS?
How hard it is if I would like to transfer from Windows to mainframes?

I used DOS systems and then always stay with Windows. I know nothing about
Unix or Linux.

Regards, Max