Reminder!!
We have our first Quarterly BASUG meeting coming up on Tuesday. Have you
paid your 2004 dues yet? If not, please come prepared with your check! You can
find membership details on our BASUG website (www.basug.org). We'll have
plenty of membership forms at the meeting, but it will save time if you print
the form, complete it, and bring it with you (along with your check!) to
the meeting.
Also, please note the change in the agenda, below.
==============================================================================
The Boston Area
SAS(r) Users Group Quarterly Meeting March 23, 2004
TOPIC: Programming
techniques related to data mining.
Many programming
techniques that programmers use week in and week out come
in handy for data mining. These presentations delve into some of those
familiar programming techniques, and how they might be used for mining
data.
WHEN: Tuesday,
March 23, 2004, 8:30AM to 12:00PM
WHERE: Holiday Inn
- Newton (Directions are included below)
399 Grove Street
Newton, MA 02462
617-969-5300
INDIVIDUAL,
ON-LINE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. NO EMAIL!
To register,
visit: http://www.basug.org/register.php3
CONTACT: If you
have questions about the meeting contact:
Brian Saper: briansaper@earthlink.net
Please Note the
following:
This
meeting is appropriate for all levels of SAS.
Experience with statistics or data mining is not required.
AGENDA:
8:30 - 8:45 - Sign
in and Coffee Break
8:45 - 9:00 -
Meeting Announcements and Introductions
9:00 - 9:50 -
"SAS/Access to External Databases: Wisdom for the
Warehouse User", by Judy Loren
9:50 - 10:05 -
Break and Refreshments
10:05 - 10:50 -
*** The paper originally scheduled for this slot has been cancelled. New
paper TBD.
10:50 - 11:05 -
Break and Refreshments
11:05 - 11:25 -
"Using the Power of SAS Macro Language to Manage
Variables", by Judy Loren
11:25 - 11:50 -
"After a Hard Day at the Data Mines", by Bob Virgile
ABSTRACTS AND
BIOGRAPHIES:
"SAS Access
to External Databases: Wisdom for the Warehouse User",
by Judy Loren, Health Dialog Data Service
With SAS/Access,
SAS users can read from and write to almost any data-
base product: DB2, Oracle, Informix, Sybase, MS SQL Server, or Teradata
just to name a few. ODBC opens up even more warehouse doors.
SAS/Access offers several ways to connect: procs,such as Import and
Export; the libname statement option that treats database tables like
SAS datasets; and pass-through, which passes user-written SQL directly
to the external product to execute and return the results to SAS. The
fun starts when the warehouse tables are too large or too complex to
allow the easy approach. This tutorial reviews all the techniques
briefly, then focuses on the situations that call for advanced
expertise. Examples demonstrate using SAS with DB2, Oracle, and Micro-
soft Access. Important details like how to refer to missing values in
various databases, and how to use macros in pass-through SQL, make the
tutorial concrete and useful. Ever had to select a small number of
records from a huge external table based on a set of key values in a SAS
dataset? In case you missed it, here's some shortcut code.
This tutorial is for SAS users who need access to a non-SAS data warehouse,
particularly if
that warehouse is really large or complex.
Knowledge of SQL is not necessary, but it will help you follow the
examples.
Biography:
Judy is a Senior
Analyst at Health Dialog Data Service, the analytical
arm of Health Dialog, which partners with insurance companies to coach
members with chronic conditions or impending health care decisions. She
uses SAS to warehouse claims information and evaluate the effectiveness
of interventions. An avowed SAS bigot, Judy is proud to follow in her
grandmother's footsteps--the one who converted the State of Maine pay-
roll to a computer-based system back when programming meant hard-wiring
boards.
"Using the
Power of SAS Macro Language to Manage Variables",
by Judy Loren
When you set out to
mine data for gems of information, you never know
what data you may encounter. How well you prepare data for your mining
techniques can set you up for success. This short presentation will
walk through some code that solves a problem that can occur when
converting data from an external database to a SAS dataset: the lengths
and/or formats and informats of text variables come across as 255. This
code can be generalized to handle other kinds of dataset management.
"After a Hard
Day at the Data Mines", by Bob Virgile
After the data
mining is completed, the final stage is often an
optimization problem. How can you apply the knowledge derived from
mining to a real world situation? (In fact, some definitions of data
mining include this optimization stage as part of the process.) This
presentation examines one approach to such an application. Note that
it focuses on the issues and approaches that can be taken, not the SAS
code itself.
Biography:
Bob Virgile is an independent trainer and consultant with over 20 years
of experience designing and teaching SAS classes. He formerly composed
the problem-solving contests for SUGI and NESUG, and has written two
books for SAS Institute. Currently, he is barred from participating in
the NESUG SAS Bowl due to superior SAS knowledge.
DIRECTIONS
DRIVING:
FROM BOSTON: Take
I-90 West to Exit 15, then take Route 128 South
(I-95)1/4 mile to Exit 22. When you exit, stay right and bear right at
the fork onto Grove Street. Hotel is on your left.
FROM SOUTH OF BOSTON:
Take Route 128 North (I-95) to Exit 22. When you
exit, stay right and bear right at the fork onto Grove Street. Hotel is
on your left.
FROM WESTERN MASS:
Take I-90 East to Exit 14, then take Route 128 South
(I-95) 1/4 mile to Exit 22. When you exit, stay right and bear right at
the fork onto Grove Street. Hotel is on your left.
FROM NEW
HAMPSHIRE: Take I-93 South to Route 128 South (I-95), follow
for approximately 15 miles to Exit 22. When you exit, stay right and
bear right at the fork onto Grove Street. Hotel is on your left.
FROM RHODE ISLAND:
Take I-95 North to Route 128 North (I-95). Follow to
Exit 22. When you exit, stay right and bear right at the fork onto Grove
Street. Hotel is on your left.
PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION:
The hotel is
adjacent to the Riverside T Station.From Kenmore Square
take the Green Line - D (Riverside) to the Riverside stop. Hotel is
adjacent to the T Station.
The hotel is also
accessible from downtown Boston via Express Bus #500
(EXPRESS BUS Riverside - Downtown Via Mass. Turnpike.). See
http://www.mbta.com/schedmaps/bus/index.cfm
for detailed bus route and
schedule. Bus drops off at Riverside T Station. Hotel is adjacent to the
T Station.
INDIVIDUAL,
ON-LINE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. NO EMAIL!
To Register
visit: http://www.basug.org/register.php3
CONTACT: If you
have questions about the meeting contact:
Brian Saper: briansaper@earthlink.net
BASUG CONTACTS:
BASUG's Mail
Address:
BASUG
PO Box 253
Boston, MA 02117
To email our
Webmaster: basugwm@basug.org
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