Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1999 09:52:43 -0500
Reply-To: "Kowalczyk, Andrew" <AKowalczyk@NT.DMA.STATE.MA.US>
Sender: "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From: "Kowalczyk, Andrew" <AKowalczyk@NT.DMA.STATE.MA.US>
Subject: Re: SAS 7.0 preliminary comments
Content-Type: text/plain
If you are using an IBM mainframe (MVS, OS/390) with a fairly current
version of TSO and the ISPF editor you can get color coded syntax using the
HILIGHT (HILITE?) command. You can specify a dozen different language
syntaxes (syntaxi?). SAS isn't one of them, but I find that "OTHER"
(meaning: other PL/I like language) works fairly well. Other people prefer
using the "C" option or the "PL/I" option.
If you put your JCL with instream SAS code in the same members, then the //*
you are likely to have in JCL makes the rest of the code look like a
comment. To wall this off I start off all my SAS code with /* */ (or end
my JCL with //* */ ). This will look like a comment to SAS and will close
off any (supposed) open comments to the editor.
Of course JCL is an option so you can toggle back and forth while working on
the different environments. The only shortcoming I experience is when I use
some complicated PROC SQL - I would like a SQL syntax option. It is too
much to ask of a third party editor to automatically recognize at least 3
different syntax models in the same piece of code (although a SI developed
one ought to).
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jaclyn Whitehorn [SMTP:jaclyn@BAMA.UA.EDU]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 1999 5:36 PM
> Subject: Re: SAS 7.0 preliminary comments
>
> Aw, man --- I was under the impression that the color-coded syntax was
> part of SAS 7 as well, and I was very excited. :( I do web pages,
> too, and HTML editors have spoiled me! Maybe if we beg hard enough it
> will be in version 8?
> FWIW, a gentleman who works here programmed for IBM for quite a few
> years, and they started using color-coded parsers for their various
> programming languages long ago ... and (according to him) productivity
> increased dramatically. Makes it much easier to detect stupid errors
> (the missing semicolon!!!)
> So it's not just an aesthetic issue ;)
>
> --
> Jaclyn Whitehorn
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