Tag: ebook

Is your New Year’s Resolution to learn SAS language programming?

Very often New Year’s Resolutions fail because the task is too hard to start, or too expensive to achieve. However, learning SAS language programming in 2026 will be much less expensive by using the free Personal Edition of Altair SLC.

Altair SLC can run more than 90% of all SAS language programs with no alterations, and much more with minor tweaks. Also, unlike SAS OnDemand for Academics (SODA), the Personal Edition of Altair SLC can be used for commercial work and includes some functionality from SAS Viya related to machine learning that is not in SODA, and includes interfaces to R and Python installations, so all 3 programming languages could be used in the same program. While the Personal Edition is not able to access remote data or run in batch mode, which requires a paid-for licence, it can be used with unlimited data.

So, now you can access free software to practice your programming, how do you learn about how to program?

I have published many books about SAS programming, most of which are available as low-cost PDF ebooks. However, I have recently written a book specifically about Altair SLC, which is also available as an ebook and costs just GBP 5.00 to download. It explains what to expect from Altair SLC and how to download it. This appears to be a version-dependent ebook, but, by downloading this ebook from this blog site, you will be able to re-download this ebook for any future edition that is published at no extra cost, so, whenever it is updated, you can download the latest version. This will also apply to the 3 new Altair SLC books that are planned for publication later in 2026.

Good luck with your New Year’s Resolutions!

January’s paperback 30% discounts on Lulu.com will expire on 30 January

Please do not buy these paperbacks from resellers now they have become available, like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc., as the resellers over-inflate their prices, but wait for discounted prices for the paperbacks on Lulu.com between the 1st and 30th day of “odd” months (Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep and Nov), or download the equivalent ebooks instead (always discounted) from the Book Table, which is where the lowest prices for my paperbacks and ebooks can always be found.

More details can be found at 2nd Edition paperbacks now have 30% discounts on Lulu.com in “odd” months.

You may ask why I am discounting the book prices. I consider the discounted paperbacks on Lulu.com and discounted downloads on this site to be a win-win: you pay a much lower price and I get a higher royalty payment!!

Please support your independent authors and publishers! Thank you.

November’s paperback 30% discounts on Lulu.com will expire on 30 November

Please do not buy these paperbacks from resellers now they have become available, like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc., as the resellers over-inflate their prices, but wait for discounted prices for the paperbacks on Lulu.com between the 1st and 30th day of “odd” months (Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep and Nov), or download the equivalent ebooks instead (always discounted) from the Book Table, which is where the lowest prices for my paperbacks and ebooks can always be found.

More details can be found at 2nd Edition paperbacks now have 30% discounts on Lulu.com in “odd” months.

You may ask why I am discounting the book prices. I consider the discounted paperbacks on Lulu.com and discounted downloads on this site to be a win-win: you pay a much lower price and I get a higher royalty payment!!

Please support your independent authors and publishers! Thank you.

STOP PRESS: Apologies for my blog site not being accessible between 31Oct2025 and early 02Nov2025. The site’s mySQL database became corrupted, so the blog site is now using a more stable and compatible MariaDB database. Fortunately, no data has been lost.

September’s paperback 30% discounts on Lulu.com will expire on 30 September

Please do not buy these paperbacks from resellers (when they eventually become available), like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc., as the resellers overinflate their prices, but wait for discounted prices for the paperbacks on Lulu.com between the 1st and 30th day of “odd” months (Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep and Nov), or download the equivalent ebooks instead (always discounted) from the Book Table, which is where the lowest prices for my paperbacks and ebooks can always be found.

More details can be found at 2nd Edition paperbacks now have 30% discounts on Lulu.com in “odd” months.

You may ask why I am discounting the book prices. I consider the discounted paperbacks on Lulu.com and discounted downloads on this site to be a win-win: you pay a much lower price and I get a higher royalty payment!!

Please support your independent authors and publishers! Thank you.

This month’s paperback 30% discounts on Lulu.com will expire on 30 July

Please do not buy these paperbacks from resellers (when they eventually become available), like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc., as the resellers overinflate their prices, but wait for discounted prices for the paperbacks on Lulu.com between the 1st and 30th day of “odd” months (Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep and Nov), or download the equivalent ebooks instead (always discounted) from the Book Table, which is where the lowest prices for my paperbacks and ebooks can always be found.

More details can be found at 2nd Edition paperbacks now have 30% discounts on Lulu.com in “odd” months.

You may ask why I am discounting the book prices. I consider the discounted paperbacks on Lulu.com and discounted downloads on this site to be a win-win: you pay a much lower price and I get a higher royalty payment!!

Please support your independent authors and publishers! Thank you.

2nd Edition paperbacks now have 30% discounts on Lulu.com in “odd” months

The original editions only included details of the 2024 versions of Altair SLC, but with the release of 2025 versions of Altair SLC, it seemed right to revise my SAS Programming Experiences and Altair SLC paperbacks and ebooks to include the new features of Altair SLC 2025.

Some of the windows in Altair Analytics Workbench have changed significantly between 2024 and 2025, but the major difference you will see is that the 2nd Editions will be available shortly on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Ingram, etc.

However, please do not buy these editions there, as the resellers inflate their prices, but wait for discounted prices for the paperbacks on Lulu.com starting on 01Jul2025 (which should be in every “odd” month: Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep and Nov, from 1st to 30th each month), or download the equivalent ebooks instead from the Book Table, which is where the lowest prices for paperbacks and ebooks can always be found.

You may ask why I am discounting the book prices. I consider the discounted paperbacks on Lulu.com and discounted downloads on this site to be a win-win: you pay a much lower price and I get a higher royalty payment!!

Please support your independent authors and publishers! Thank you.

Improvements to the SAS-related ebook web apps

Over recent weeks I have been retiring my ebook apps from Google Play and Chrome Web Store (with Amazon Appstore apps due to be retired later this year) and updating the app links in my ebook web apps on this site. This will mean that you will always see the latest information in the app here, and they will be available on all platforms that support web browsing.

There are still a few content updates to do, like replacing SAS University Edition with SAS On-Demand for Academics, and adding more information about Altair SLC, but they will be made over time, along with other updates and new web apps.

Features of the web apps on this site:

  • Drop-down contents list.
  • Adjustable font size and text flow to fit the browser window with [A-] and [A+] buttons.
  • Page up [Pg+] and down [Pg-] buttons.
  • Emails generated from clickable code fragments.
  • Ask a new question [Ask?] button to generate emails with suggestions.
  • Some apps include an index too.

I realise that there are still some app users out there who will feel abandoned, so, for those who have never subscribed to the SAS Programming Forum, register for Free membership of this blog, email a screenshot of your app to sales@hollandnumerics.org.uk (or use the app’s [Ask?] button) and I will give you a month’s free access to the SAS Programming Forum and to the ebook web apps as a thank you for your support.

When you have logged into the blog, you will see menu items for the web apps based on your membership.

Warning: the apps themselves are restricted to only work when opened from these web lists, so adding the individual apps to your browser favourites will not be helpful!

SAS course eBook Web Apps have arrived on this Blog Site for Members

In the past I have written ebook apps on SAS-related topics for webOS, Android and Chrome users, but not everyone has access to these app platforms. However, every member of this blog site, whatever platform they use, has access to a compatible browser for my new ebook web apps, which contain the same content as my previous apps, but run from links on this site.

If you have logged onto the blog site as a Free member, then you will see a new “Informational eBook Web Apps about SAS-related Topics (for Free members)” in the Menu. This will take you to a blog forum landing page for the sample ebook web apps, which will demonstrate their functionality and show you sample topics from the other web apps, where there is a new link at the bottom of the page to the sample SAS course app. Alternatively go to the SAS Skills Discussion Forum:

  • SAS course: SAS Components ==> Sample topics from the other SAS course web apps.

If you have logged onto the blog site as a Programming member, then you will see a new “Informational eBook Web Apps about SAS-related Topics” in the Menu instead. This will take you to a blog forum landing page for the full list of ebook web apps, where there is a new link at the bottom of the page to the new SAS course apps, with the following topic areas, as well as the sample app above. Alternatively go to the SAS Programming Forum:

  • SAS course: Data Step ==> SAS functionality relating to Data Steps.
  • SAS course: PROC SQL ==> SAS functionality relating to PROC SQL.
  • SAS course: SAS Macros ==> SAS functionality relating to macros.

Note that these web apps can only be accessed from these blog forum landing pages, and you must be logged in with the appropriate membership level for that specific forum. Subscription details can be found here.

Informational eBook Web Apps are coming to this Blog Site for Members

In the past I have written ebook apps on SAS-related topics for webOS, Android and Chrome users, but not everyone has access to these app platforms. However, every member of this blog site, whatever platform they use, has access to a compatible browser for my new ebook web apps, which contain the same content as my previous apps, but run from links on this site.

If you have logged onto the blog site as a Free member, then you will see a new “Informational eBook Web Apps about SAS-related Topics (for Free members)” in the Menu. This will take you to a blog forum landing page for the sample ebook web apps, which will demonstrate their functionality and show you sample topics from the other web apps:

  • How ==> App functionality sample
  • Consulting ==> Information about training and consultancy, plus sample topics from the other web apps

If you have logged onto the blog site as a Programming member, then you will see a new “Informational eBook Web Apps about SAS-related Topics” in the Menu instead. This will take you to a blog forum landing page for the full list of ebook web apps, with the following topic areas, as well as the sample apps above:

  • Data Steps ==> SAS functionality relating to Data Steps
  • SQL ==> SAS functionality relating to PROC SQL
  • Graphs ==> SAS functionality relating to SAS/GRAPH and ODS Graphics
  • Platforms ==> SAS functionality specific to Windows, UNIX, Linux and/or z/OS
  • EG ==> SAS functionality relating to Enterprise Guide
  • Macros ==> SAS functionality relating to macros
  • Efficiency ==> How to write efficient SAS programs
  • Studio ==> SAS functionality relating to SAS Studio

Note that these web apps can only be accessed from these blog forum landing pages, and you must be logged in with the appropriate membership level for that specific forum. Subscription details can be found here.

I’ve added the final topic of the SAS Macros course in the SAS course (in the SAS Programming Forum)

I’ve added the final topic of the SAS Macros course in the SAS course (in the SAS Programming Forum), and it describes some of the syntax used in SAS Macros processing.

I have added, for those who don’t want to follow the course but would prefer to read the course notes, a copy of course notes as a downloadable PDF ebook, and I have now published Android ebook apps with the same content on Google Play and Amazon Appstore.

As other SAS courses are finalised I will be publishing them as PDF ebooks and Android apps too.

Please enjoy if you’ve subscribed to the SAS Programming Forum.

I’ve added 5 more topics to the Macros course in the SAS course (in the SAS Programming Forum)

I’ve added 5 more topics to the Macros course in the SAS course (in the SAS Programming Forum), and they describe more of the syntax used in SAS macro programming.

I have added, for those who don’t want to follow the course but would prefer to read the course notes, copies of some of the course notes as downloadable PDF ebooks, and I have now published Android ebook apps with the same content on Google Play and Amazon Appstore.

The Macros book and apps will be published after I’ve added the final topic, and as other SAS courses are finalised I will be publishing them as PDF ebooks and Android apps too.

Have I told you about who won the Prize Draw at the October SUGUKI meeting in London?

Practical ODS Graphics Course notes

Have I told you about who won the Prize Draw at the October SUGUKI meeting in London? I don’t think I have, so I’d better rectify this omission and tell you that Richie McKern won a copy of the my Practical ODS Graphics Course notes as an ebook on a USB key in the Prize Draw, along with a load of other SAS-related papers.

My presentation on Annotate and ODS Graphics was well-received by a small band of SAS enthusiasts. I’ve not heard when I’ll next be presenting at a SUGUKI meeting, but I can tell you that my next presentation will be “Using SAS Studio Tasks to Plot with ODS Graphics”.

Looking forward to seeing you there, whenever it is.