Choice of Development Tool for the User Interface of a Client-Server Application in a SAS® Environment

Application developers in SAS environments regularly face the question about what tool to use to build the client-based user interface of their client-server applications. These are environments where: (1) the data is in server-based SAS data sets, (2) the primary processing is done with server-based SAS Software applications that cover file management, analysis, and reporting, and (3) the user interface, or front-end, is client-based and is used primarily to direct and control the processing and to present results. Although the server side is all SAS-based, the client side user interface can be, but does not have to be, written with SAS Software. The choice of a front-end tool in this environment has never been simple because of tradeoffs involved. But this tool choice has over time become even less clear because (1) non-SAS front-end tools have eclipsed the primary SAS tool (SAS/AF) in popularity, (2) SAS has stopped growing the SAS/AF tool, and (3) SAS has developed a new tool, AppDev Studio. AppDev Studio is primarily used to build the client and server sides of Web-enabled SAS applications, but it can actually build a front-end to any server-based SAS application and data. This paper evaluates SAS/AF, SAS AppDev Studio, and the non-SAS tool class, (with Visual Basic as a prime example), against a series of relevant performance factors. Information is provided to structure and contribute to the decision about which front-end development tool to use.