Statistics without DATA _NULLS_

Analysts attracted to SAS for its statistical capabilities no longer have to settle for its clumsy publishing capabilities. Instead, they can take advantage of the Output Delivery System (ODS) in version 7.0, SAS’s data warehouse and data processing capabilities, and a new open-source, non-proprietary software technology, and literally never use a DATA _NULL_, PROC REPORT, or PROC TABULATE again. An analyst working with publishing software and exploiting its layout and styling flexibility creates a terse sample table. The sample, via SAS programs, directs the retrieval of data from a warehouse and the creation of publishable markup. The publishing software renders the markup publication ready without re-typing, cutting-and-pasting, or format conversion of SAS output. The new, platformindependent software technology is eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Statistical analysts and their organizations will better exploit the strengths of SAS and publishing software by coupling the two via XML.