SAS on bama: SAS 6.12 is no longer the default version on bama. The "sas" command will run SAS 8.1. If you still need SAS 6.12, you can use the command "sas612"

There is a possible problem with sequential data libraries in SAS versions 7 and 8. The TAPE engine may be unreliable. While there is no information on this problem available from the SAS Institute Website at this time, the following was sent out as part of a newsletter by Barry Merrill of Merrill Consultants (attempts have been made to only include the parts relevant to SAS itself, as opposed to MXG Software):

This MXG technical note will be published in MXG Newsletter THIRTY-SEVEN,
and is currently available in the Newsletters frame of the homepage. 

5. The SAS V8 Tape Engine cannot be safely used.  May 12, 2000. 

   SAS V8 TAPE Engine (V7SEQ=V8SEQ) cannot be used with complete
   safety to create or even to read tape-format datasets.  LABELs of
   variables in datasets that are created (on tape or disk!) from
   V8SEQ-format datasets can be trashed (truncated, overlaid, extra
   blanks) if a SET statement with a (KEEP=) dataset option is used. Bad
   LABELs can destroy reports, and there is no warning, error message,
   nor a condition code set.  V8SEQ can also error if you create
   tape-format on DASD, but at least then, you do get an error! 

   These errors were found too late to be fixed in SAS Version 8.1! 

   The circumvention is to tell SAS Version 8 to use the V6SEQ engine
   instead of the V8SEQ engine (both to create and to read tapes) until
   SAS Institute has a corrected version. 

   The Trashed LABELs error: 

   SAS V8 will create V8SEQ-format datasets on tape, and the LABELs in
   the tape dataset are fine, but if you then read that tape dataset to
   create a new dataset, the LABELs in that new dataset are trashed if
   the SET statement also uses the (KEEP=) dataset option: 
     DATA SUBSET; SET CICSTRAN.CICSTRAN (KEEP= A B .. Z);
   While this case exposes the error, there may be other exposures.

<...>

   The circumvention for Trashed Labels error in SAS V8.0 and V8.1: 

   You should add  SEQENGINE=V6SEQ  in your CONFIG member to make V6SEQ
   your default tape (sequential) engine.  However, you must also scan
   your tailoring and report source libraries for any instances of
   "LIBNAME ddname TAPE;" and must change "TAPE" to "V6SEQ", because
   TAPE in a LIBNAME statement overrides the SEQENGINE option, and TAPE
   defaults to V8SEQ under SAS V8, a default that cannot be changed. SAS
   V8 should be able to detect that a tape dataset was built with the
   V6SEQ engine, but it can't.  If you try to read a V6SEQ dataset with
   V8SEQ engine, the step fails with error message: 
     LIBRARY ddname IS NOT VALID FORMAT FOR ACCESS SASV7SEQ! 
   That's why you should change you CONFIG option to SEQENGINE=V6SEQ.
   However, you could instead add a LIBNAME statement for each tape DD,
   (in your SYSIN stream) with "LIBNAME ddname V6SEQ;" and not have to
   update the CONFIG member, but changing the CONFIG member is probably
   the best circumvention. 

   Second V8SEQ error, tape-format-on-DASD. 

   V8SEQ also fails if you try to write a tape-format dataset on DASD,
   using just the old DDname convention of //TAPExxxx to invoke the tape 
   engine, because that option invokes only the V5SEQ engine, and SAS V8
   is no longer backwards compatible, as it can only read V5SEQ
   libraries; writing to V5SEQ from V8 causes error messages:
     WARNING:76-63: THE OPTION LABEL IS NOT IMPLEMENTED IN V5TAPE ENGINE 
     ERROR: WRITE ACCESS TO MEMBER TAPEXXXX.yyyyyyyy.DATA IS DENIED. 
   This is documented in the SAS Companion for MVS, V6, Second Edition,
   Appendix I, page 437, which is also the reference in the V8 Companion
   for MVS. 

   The circumvention is to use   LIBNAME   ddname  V6SEQ ; for any
   tape-format-dataset-on-DASD. 

<...>

   Even if you specify SEQENGINE=V6SEQ in CONFIG, that only applies if
   the actual device is tape;  to now create a tape format dataset on
   DASD under SAS V8, you must now also specify:        
     LIBNAME TAPExxxx V6SEQ;  or  LIBNAME ddname V6SEQ;  	   

   SAS Institute Note 002651 has been created for the trashed label
   error, and a defect has been created, but it won't be fixed in V8.1.    

<...>

   SAS/ITSV for MVS Release 2.3 will include MXG 18.04 with that release
   and Release 2.3 also sets SEQENGINE=V6SEQ as the V8 default.

Please send e-mail to statuser@bama.ua.edu if you have any questions or concerns.