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Most people think that all insects are bugs, but, in fact, only species belonging to the order Hemiptera are considered by scientists to be “true bugs.” There are about 932,000 species of insects, but only 82,000 species of true bugs. Fortunately for us, there are a lot fewer species of SAS bugs.
SAS bugs can be classified into three general types: syntax, data, and logic.
- Syntax errors result when your program fails to follow SAS’s rules about the way keywords are put together to make statements.
- Data errors happen when you have a program that is syntactically sound, but the data values do not fit the program as it was written.
- Logic errors happen when you have a program that runs, and data that fits, but the result is wrong because the program gave the wrong instructions.
Debugging is one of my favorite topics. I believe that debugging your programs is not only necessary, but also a good way to gain insight into how SAS works. Once you understand why you got an error, a warning, or a note; you’ll be better able to avoid problems in the future. In other words, people who are good debuggers are good programmers.
I’m looking forward to talking about bugs (both the SAS kind, and some of the creepy-crawly kind too) at SAS Global Forum next week. If you will be at there, maybe you can catch my presentation.
Errors, Warnings, and Notes (Oh My!): A Practical Guide to Debugging SAS Programs
Tuesday, May 30, 3:30-4:20 Moscone Center Room 2008
I hope you can come to SAS Global Forum, but if you can’t, there are still a lot of great ways to learn and share the excitement.
You can view the proceedings for all SGF 2013 papers here.
You can view some great presentations on SAS Global Forum Take-Out.
You can even view much of the conference live.
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