Scripting Guide - SAS

34 Introduction Chapter 2
Terminology
Abbreviation
dt
col
colname
obj
db
Object
data table
column in a data table
the name of a column in a data table
an object
display box
These variables are not pre-assigned references. Each one must be assigned prior to its use. In the following
example, the global variable named A is assigned the value “Hello, World”. When the Show( A ) command
is processed, the result is the value of A.
A = "Hello, World";
Show( A );
A = "Hello, World";
Arguments and Parameters
An argument is additional information that you can provide to a function or message. For example, in
Root(25), 25 is an argument to the Root() function. Root() acts on the argument that you provide and
returns the result: 5.
Programming and scripting books commonly talk about parameters as well. A parameter is a description of
the argument that a function accepts. For example, the general specification for Root() might be
Root( number ), where number is the parameter.
Parameter and argument express two perspectives of the same concept: information that a function needs.
For simplicity in this book, we use the word argument in both cases.
A named argument is an optional argument that you select from a predetermined set and explicitly define.
For example, title("My Line Graph") in the Graph Box() function is a named argument because the
title is explicitly defined as such.
Graph Box( title("My Line Graph"),
Frame Size( 300, 500 ),
Marker( Marker State( 3 ), [11 44 77], [75 25 50] );
Pen Color( "Blue" );
Line( [10 30 70], [88 22 44] );
Note that the Frame Size() arguments 300 and 500 are not named. The position of these arguments
implies meaning; the first argument is always the width, the second argument is always the height.