Tag: books

Download pre-publication copies of my new books at discounted prices

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I have released pre-publication copies of my new books, “SAS Programming Experiences: A How-To Guide from a Power SAS User” and a specific extract book about Altair SLC called “Altair SLC: The SAS Language Compiler”, today.

Note that everything in “Altair SLC: The SAS Language Compiler” is included in “SAS Programming Experiences: A How-To Guide from a Power SAS User”, so purchasing both is not recommended.

Prices will be adjusted as soon as the books are published.

Are you interested in SAS Programming? Will you be near Milwaukee on 26 June 2024? Do you fancy meeting for lunch?

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On my way to spend a week on a Great Lakes cruise with my wife from Thursday 27 June 2024, I will be spending a day with LeRoy Bessler in Milwaukee on Wednesday 26 June 2024. We enjoy talking about SAS programming and books, so we will be meeting for an informal lunch in the Lobby Lounge at the Pfister Hotel around 12 midday, and if you would like to join us, then you will be very welcome.

Note that we do need to know whether you will be able to join us, not to order your lunch, as attendees will be expected to buy their own lunches, but to make sure the Lobby Lounge can accommodate everyone expected! Therefore, please email me at books@hollandnumerics.org.uk to confirm your attendance as soon as you can. If a change of venue is necessary, then everyone who has confirmed will be informed in advance, so you will not miss out.

LeRoy published his first book, “Visual Data Insights Using SAS ODS Graphics: A Guide to Communication-Effective Data Visualization”, in 2023, which concentrates on how to create graphs using ODS Graphics to communicate data.

I am desperately trying to publish my new book, “SAS Programming Experiences: A How-To Guide from a Power SAS User”, in time for this lunch, so it can be the official book launch event! I will confirm if this is going to happen closer to the lunch date, and confirmation will mean that my book will be available at a discounted launch price. LeRoy’s book and all of my published books can be bought through my blog site at the Book Table now.

I have been SAS programming for over 40 years, so this book (originally written to be my memoirs!) has 3 distinct sections:

  • SAS programming methods to make your programs easier to maintain. I like to write my SAS programs where they will cope nicely with any data!!
  • SAS programming interfaces to improve your programming environment, focusing on how SAS installs and editors have evolved over 40 years, Enterprise Guide, SAS Studio and ODS Graphics.
  • SAS alternatives, where I compare SAS software with Altair SLC, including how Altair SLC can create graphics and interface to open-source languages like R and Python.

Again, please email me at books@hollandnumerics.org.uk to confirm your attendance as soon as you can.

Thank you in advance!

Use it, or Lose it! 10 Ways of Getting the Most SAS Value from my Retirement…

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To me retirement only means not earning a salary from my SAS programming, which will, from now, become a pure hobby. However, to program in SAS AND to be able to get access to all of its components, including Enterprise Guide, batch processing, and the Program Editor, the SAS licence has to be paid for. For me this would amount to paying around GBP 3,000 a year, and so I have drawn up a list of ways that you can contribute to that total, but at the same time benefit from my 40+ years of SAS programming, and 30+ years as an independent SAS consultant, working in the banking, insurance, IT, pharmaceutical, HR and marketing business sectors, and on IBM mainframe, OS/2, VAX, Unix, Windows and Linux.

Any excess income will be used to extend my SAS licence into the following year. I’m planning to use this income from April 2025, so we now have a few months to raise sufficient funds.

-137Days remaining -15Hours -5Minutes -28Seconds

The following are grouped into group¹ (for companies or collaborating individuals) and individual² options:

For Companies or Collaborating Individuals¹:

No.1 = 1/2 day SAS training, including digital training materials, for GBP 1,800

No.2 = 1 month of confidential online support with unlimited questions for GBP 720

No.3 = 1 day of remote SAS programming for GBP 600

No.4 = 1 hour of 1-to-1 SAS video discussion for GBP 100

  • Book your hour of SAS video discussion.
  • Video discussions use Jitsi Meet, which is limited to 100 participants.
  • Topics include:
    • Base SAS syntax
    • Base SAS functions
    • Base SAS formats and informats
    • Base SAS procedures
    • Data step merging
    • PROC SQL syntax
    • PROC SQL merging
    • PROC SQL updating
    • Macro introduction
    • Macro syntax
    • Macro variables
    • ODS Graphics introduction
    • ODS Graphics procedures
    • Enterprise Guide introduction
    • SAS/Studio introduction

For Individuals²:

No.5 = 1 confidential remote question for GBP 72

No.6 = 1 ebook copy of course notes to one of my SAS courses from GBP 11

  • My SAS course notes are published as ebooks on Lulu.com, who, unlike Amazon, etc., do not take massive commissions, so I receive most of the published price.
  • See my Book Table for more details.

No.7 = 1 ebook copy of one of my SAS books directly from my blog site for GBP 12.50

  • “Saving Time and Money using SAS” is no longer sold in softback, but you can download the ebook directly from my blog site.
  • See my Book Table for more details.

No.8 = 3 months of subscription to the SAS Programming Forum, including access to my online SAS course collection, for 3 x GBP 5

  • Details of what the SAS Programming Forum is can be found here.
  • See how to subscribe to the SAS Programming Forum, including my online SAS course collection, here.

No.9 = 1 copy of one of my SAS paperback books from GBP 10.25 or SAS ebooks from GBP 4.75 from Lulu.com

No.10 = 1 copy of one of my SAS softback books from a reseller from GBP 25

  • Although these options appear to be lower in the list than expected, I receive very little from softback books sold, because I received an advance when they were published.
  • See my Book Table for more details.

No.11 = 1 copy of one of my SAS ebooks from a reseller from GBP 3

  • Although these options appear to be lower in the list than expected, I receive very little from ebooks sold by resellers, because I received an advance when they were published.
  • See my Book Table for more details.

Last call for articles for VIEWS News 64: Become a VIEWS Consultant in May!

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Last call for articles for VIEWS News 64: Become a VIEWS Consultant in May! I’m planning to publish VIEWS News issue 64 at the end of May 2021, which means that I need you to send me your short SAS-related articles by 17May2021 to views-uk@hollandnumerics.org.uk.

Topics include:

  • Annoying SAS Programming Styles: I wrote Part 1 in issue 60 about indenting of SAS code, and have added more articles since then. Do you have your own example of an annoying programming style, and how to fix it?
  • Event previews and reports.
  • SAS-related book reviews.
  • Short articles on any SAS-related topics.

All the above examples will entitle the author to refer to themselves as a VIEWS Consultant!

There is also In Brief and Diary sections in each issue containing:

  • Links to interesting SAS-related web sites.
  • Announcements of SAS-related events occurring from mid-June onwards.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon…………..Phil

 

SAS training for home-workers: Keeping your mind active and your skills current

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I have been working from home on and off since 1996, so it now feels quite normal to start my work day by walking from my kitchen into my office. I know some of my colleagues have struggled with the many distractions that exist at home, so I suppose I’ve been lucky, but I still do not like doing nothing at all. To stop any boredom setting in I will look for ways to do something useful, and, over the years, I have taught myself many programming languages by reading books, running example code, and trying to write applications that will be useful day-to-day, for example:

  • Database applications for calculating hours left to work and printing invoices in Visual Basic.
  • Web applications to send me emails and SMS messages in Perl.
  • Smartphone apps for webOS (remember HP/Palm phones?) in Javascript and HTML5.
  • Smartphone apps for Android in Java.
  • Crossword puzzle word-finder scripts in LibreOffice Basic.
  • SAS Enterprise Guide custom tasks in VB.Net.
  • SAS Studio custom tasks in XML.

Each language presents a different set of problems and solutions, so each new solution will broaden your knowledge of the computer world. Not all language have been central to my day job, but my views on solving computer problems has been moulded by each new programming language I’ve used. In 1996 there was no significant online help, so you couldn’t easily ask anyone for help, but instead you had to rely on hints and tips in computer magazines. Later the online communities have become vital, but you will now have to ask your questions in the correct way, so that it will be understood by each community, as names are not necessarily consistent, otherwise your question is likely to be ignored. I’ve now found ways to improve the chances of my questions being answered, even if my problems are not always resolved:

  • Write a subject line that asks a question that could be answered, otherwise it probably won’t even be read.
  • Set the scene by describing the environment you are working in, such as operating system, and software language and version.
  • Describe in as much detail as you can what you are trying to do, what you have already tried, and any results/messages that you are getting, even if you don’t understand them.
  • Never assume that you’re problem can be solved, but work with anyone who offers you assistance.
  • Be humble and grateful, because there will be programmers out there who know more about this than you, and you might need to call on their skills again.

So what has all this got to do with SAS training? Well, thanks to COVID-19, there are now more home-workers than ever before, and in some cases the work available may not be filling your day, so what can you do to fill your spare time and improve your programming knowledge? I have gathered together some sources of SAS training and information which are either free or inexpensive, which you may find useful, and if you find out about any more, then post a comment and I’ll be happy to check them out:

  • Training courses:
    • My corporate SAS training courses are intended for large groups, but each course has an associated eBook that is much cheaper and available through the Training section on this site.
    • I have a low-cost forum with a monthly subscription called the SAS Programming Forum, which welcomes SAS programming questions, but also includes the SAS course with a growing number of SAS-related topics, such as Data Steps, SAS Macros and PROC SQL, either as individual posts or LMS courses.
    • If you prefer to learn from eBooks or Android apps, then the topics in the SAS course are also available as eBooks and Android apps (on Amazon Appstore and Google Play).
  • Papers and books:
    • The Conferences Paper section on this site is filled with papers covering a wide range of SAS-related topics, which can be downloaded for free.
    • Other SAS-related books can be bought through the Books section on this site.
    • The largest searchable collection of SAS-related conference papers is maintained by Lex Jansen, including papers from SUGI, SeUGI, regional SAS user groups and forums, VIEWS, PhUSE, PharmaSUG and SAS Global Forum.
  • Competitive learning:
    • Sasensei is a SAS-related quiz and learning site where the flashcards, questions and quizzes are contributed by the users, and you earn points and awards from contributions and correct answers, but you will always learn from your incorrect answers too.
  • SAS support:
  • SAS programming platforms for learning:
    • SAS University Edition is free for use as a learning platform, and can either be downloaded and installed on your laptop using VMware or VirtualBox, or accessed through the web on the AWS Cloud.
    • WPS Analytics Community Edition is a free version of WPS Analytics, which can be licensed from World Programming for 6 months at a time and installed on your PC, and can run SAS programs using quite a large subset of SAS programming features, and includes R and Python interfaces.

I think that should at least get you started on your SAS improvement projects!

All the PDF course notes for my courses have been moved to Lulu.com

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All the PDF course notes for my courses have been moved to Lulu.com. You can still find links to them on the SAS books page in the Holland Numerics Product Shop, but the links will now send you to my Lulu.com Store, where you can buy the PDF eBooks.

I realise that some blog site visitors do not wish to register on this site, so moving the eBooks to a distributor should make the purchasing a little easier for everyone.

All future PDF course notes will be published directly on Lulu.com.

Book Promotion Photo Gallery

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June 2018: Congratulations to Igor Khorlo who won my new book in the Prize Draw at SAS Forum UK in Birmingham

April 2018: Congratulations to Chris Smith who won my new book in the Prize Draw at the SUGUKI meeting in London

September 2017: Congratulations to Peter Lowes who won my new book in the Prize Draw at SAS Forum UK in Birmingham

April 2017: Congratulations to Matthew Hoolsema who won my new book in the Prize Draw at SAS Global Forum in Orlando

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October 2016: Congratulations to Cathal Gallagher who won my new book in the Prize Draw at the PhUSE Conference in Barcelona

Congratulations to Charlotte King who won my new book in the Prize Draw at the SAS Forum UK in Birmingham
September 2016: Congratulations to Charlotte King who won my new book in the Prize Draw at the SAS Forum UK in Birmingham

Congratulations to Olivier Goethals who won my new book in the Prize Draw at SAS Global Forum in Las Vegas
April 2016: Congratulations to Olivier Goethals who won my new book in the Prize Draw at SAS Global Forum in Las Vegas

Congratulations to Angelo Tinazzi who won my new book in the Prize Draw at PhUSE in Vienna
October 2015: Congratulations to Angelo Tinazzi, who won my new book in the Prize Draw at the PhUSE Conference in Vienna. Thanks go to Ian Marlow from the CK Group for running the competition.

Happiness: my new book, a beer and my advertising shirt at the book launch in Cambridge
September 2015: Happiness = my new book, a beer and my advertising shirt at the book launch in Cambridge

SAS Programming and Data Visualization Techniques: A Power User’s Guide – paperback and ebooks

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SAS Programming and Data Visualization Techniques: A Power User’s Guide brings together a wealth of ideas about strategic and tactical solutions to everyday situations experienced when transferring, extracting, processing, analyzing, and reporting the valuable data you have at your fingertips. Best, you can achieve most of the solutions using the SAS components you already license, meaning that with this book’s insights can keep you from throwing money at problems needlessly.

Published in August 2015.