SAS(R) 9.1.3 Companion for z/OS

Using SAS Data Libraries Compatibility Engines 37
Note: Use BASE as the engine name if you write programs that create new SAS
data libraries and you want to create the data libraries in the latest available format.
In SAS System 9, BASE is an alias for V9, and it will be an alias for newer engines in
subsequent releases of SAS. R
The V9TAPE Engine
The sequential engine for SAS data libraries is V9TAPE. The V9TAPE engine creates
sequential libraries in the V9TAPE format, and it can also read and write libraries
created using the V7TAPE and V8TAPE engines.
The V9TAPE engine provides a way to store files on devices such as tape that do not
support random access. Some of the uses of the V9TAPE engine on z/OS include
3 archiving SAS files to tape for long-term storage.
3 transporting SAS files between your z/OS system and another z/OS system or
CMS system via tape.
3 sending SAS data, via a pipe connection, for immediate consumption by another
job running in parallel.
In contrast to the V9 engine, V9TAPE has the following limitations:
3 does not support indexing, compression of observations, or audit trail capabilities
3 does not support direct access to individual observations (using the POINT= or
KEY= options in the SET or MODIFY statements)
3 provides limited support for the following types of SAS library members: ACCESS,
CATALOG, PROGRAM, and VIEW. You can move or transport these member
types, but you cannot use the V9TAPE engine to access the information within
these members.
Note: Use TAPE as the engine name if you write programs that create new SAS
data libraries and you want to create the data libraries in the latest available format.
In SAS System 9, TAPE is an alias for V9TAPE, and it will be an alias for newer
sequential engines in subsequent releases of SAS. R
Compatibility Engines
SAS provides various compatibility engines for the purpose of processing libraries
that were created by previous versions of SAS. The type of engine that should be used
depends on the engine format of the library. In most cases, SAS can detect the engine
format and automatically select the appropriate engine to use. However, if you are
using SAS System 9 to create a new library or new members that will be processed by a
prior version of SAS, you need to explicitly specify (on a LIBNAME statement or
function) an engine that creates a library or members in a format that can be processed
by the prior version of SAS.
The following base engine library formats can be read and written by SAS System 9:
V9 library Libraries created by the default base engine in V8 or V7 are
identified by SAS System 9 as being in V9 format.
V6 library These libraries were created using the default base engine in V6 or
using the V6 compatibility engine under a later version of SAS.
Specifying one of the compatibility engines below has the indicated effect:
V8 creates a V9 library but does not allow creation of members with
format names longer than 8 bytes.