Editing SAS (software) (section)

==History==

===Origins===
The development of SAS started in 1966 after [[North Carolina State University]] re-hired [[Anthony James Barr|Anthony Barr]]<ref name="NourseGreenberg1978">{{cite journal|last1=Nourse|first1=E. Shepley|last2=Greenberg|first2=Bernard G.|last3=Cox|first3=Gertrude M.|last4=Mason|first4=David D.|last5=Grizzle|first5=James E.|last6=Johnson|first6=Norman L.|last7=Jones|first7=Lyle V. |last8=Monroe |first8=John |last9=Simons|first9=Gordon D.|title=Statistical Training and Research: The University of North Carolina System |journal=International Statistical Review / Revue Internationale de Statistique|volume=46|issue=2|year=1978|page=171|issn=0306-7734 |doi=10.2307/1402812|jstor=1402812}}</ref> to program his analysis of variance and regression software so that it would run on [[IBM System/360]] computers.<ref name="AgrestiMeng2012">{{cite book|author1=Alan Agresti|author2=Xiao-Li Meng|title=Strength in Numbers: The Rising of Academic Statistics Departments in the U.S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kPGJUiUCJZkC&pg=PA177|date=2 November 2012|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4614-3649-2 |page=177}}</ref> The project was funded by the [[National Institutes of Health]].<ref name="fda"/> and was originally intended to analyze agricultural data<ref name="berk"/><ref name="“little">{{cite news|title=Little-known software giant to raise its profile |first=Emery |last=Dalesio |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=20010505&id=nPpIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oAUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3476,727402 |date=May 5, 2001|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=April 8, 2014}}</ref> to improve crop yields.<ref name="seventyeight">{{cite news |first=David |last=Kaplan |newspaper=Fortune |url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/technology/sas_best_companies.fortune/|title=SAS: A new no. 1 best employer|date=January 22, 2010 |access-date=April 8, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129010236/http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/technology/sas_best_companies.fortune/ |archive-date=November 29, 2011}}</ref> Barr was joined by student [[James Goodnight]], who developed the software's statistical routines, and the two became project leaders.<ref name="NourseGreenberg1978"/><ref name="AgrestiMeng2012"/><ref name="timeline"/> In 1968, Barr and Goodnight integrated new [[multiple regression]] and [[analysis of variance]] routines.<ref name="Attr76">{{cite journal |first=Anthony |last=Barr |author2=James Goodnight |title=The SAS Staff|year=1976|quote=SAS 72 and SAS 76 are attributed to Barr, Goodnight, Service, Perkins, and Helwig}}</ref><ref>(Barr & Goodnight et al. 1979:front matter) Attribution of the development of various parts of the system to Barr, Goodnight, and Sall.</ref> In 1972, after issuing the first release of SAS, the project lost its funding.<ref name="fda">{{cite web |title=SAS Institute FDA Intellectual Partnership for Efficient Regulated Research Data Archival and Analyses |url=https://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/00n0001/ts00016.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000824120039/http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/00n0001/ts00016.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 24, 2000 |publisher=Duke University|date=April 12, 2000|access-date=September 28, 2011}}</ref> According to Goodnight, this was because NIH only wanted to fund projects with medical applications.<ref name="intervieww">{{cite web|title=Oral History Interview with Jim Goodnight|date=July 22, 1999|url=http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/I-0073/excerpts/excerpt_976.html|access-date=April 8, 2014|publisher=Oral Histories of the American South}}</ref> Goodnight continued teaching at the university for a salary of $1 and access to mainframe computers for use with the project,<ref name="fda"/> until it was funded by the [[University Statisticians of the Southern Experiment Stations]] the following year.<ref name="AgrestiMeng2012"/><ref name="intervieww"/> [[John Sall]] joined the project in 1973 and contributed to the software's econometrics, time series, and matrix algebra. Another early participant, Caroll G. Perkins, contributed to SAS' early programming. Jolayne W. Service and Jane T. Helwig created SAS's first documentation.<ref name="Attr76"/>

The first versions of SAS, from SAS 71 to SAS 82, were named after the year in which they were released.<ref name="expert">{{cite web
| title=History of SAS version
| url=http://www.globalstatements.com/sas/differences/
| publisher=Global Statements|first=Rick|last=Aster
| access-date=October 4, 2013}}</ref> In 1971, SAS 71 was published as a limited release.<ref name="encycl"/><ref>
{{cite book
| first=Anthony|last=Barr |author2=James Goodnight |author3=James Howard
| publisher=North Carolina State University|year=1971
| title=Statistical analysis system
|oclc=5728643 }}</ref> It was used only on IBM mainframes and had the main elements of SAS programming, such as the DATA step and the most common procedures, i.e. PROCs.<ref name="expert"/> The following year a full version was released as SAS 72, which introduced the MERGE statement and added features for handling missing data or combining data sets.<ref>{{cite book
| last=Service
| first=Jolayne
| title=A User's Guide to the Statistical Analysis System
| publisher=North Carolina State University
| year=1972
| url=http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/1325510
| access-date=2006-10-16
| archive-date=2007-09-29
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929121443/http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/1325510
| url-status=dead
}}</ref> The development of SAS has been described{{by whom|date=May 2025}} as an "[[inflection point]]" in the [[history of artificial intelligence]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ioannou |first=Lori |date=2019-11-04 |title=Jim Goodnight, the 'Godfather of A.I.,' predicts the future fate of the US workforce |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/04/godfather-of-ai-predicts-the-future-fate-of-the-us-workforce.html |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> In 1976, Barr, Goodnight, Sall, and Helwig removed the project from North Carolina State and incorporated it as the [[SAS Institute|SAS Institute, Inc.]]<ref>
{{cite magazine
| first=Mary
| last=Shacklett
| date=September 5, 2013
| url=https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/big-data-analytics/see-if-the-r-language-fits-in-your-big-data-toolkit/
| magazine=Tech Republic
| access-date=October 3, 2013
| title=See if the R language fits in your big data toolkit}}</ref>

===Development===
SAS was redesigned in SAS 76. The INPUT and INFILE statements were improved so they could read most data formats used by IBM mainframes. Generating reports was also added through the PUT and FILE statements. The ability to analyze [[general linear model]]s was also added<ref>{{cite book
| last=Barr
| first=Anthony J.
| author2=James H. Goodnight
| author3=John P. Sall
| author4=Jane T. Helwig
| title=SAS Programmer's Guide, 1979 Edition
| publisher=SAS Institute, Inc.
| year=1979
| url=http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/4984363
| oclc=4984363
| access-date=2006-10-16
| archive-date=2007-09-29
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929104344/http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/4984363
| url-status=dead
}}</ref> as was the FORMAT procedure, which allowed developers to customize the appearance of data.<ref name="expert"/> In 1979, SAS 79 added support for the IBM VM/[[Conversational Monitor System|CMS operating system]] and introduced the DATASETS procedure. Three years later, SAS 82 introduced an early macro language and the APPEND procedure.<ref name="expert"/>

Beginning with SAS 4, released in 1984, SAS releases have followed a sequential naming convention not based on year of release.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SAS Releases Timeline |url=https://robslink.com/SAS/democd67/sas_releases.htm |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=robslink.com}}</ref> SAS version 4 had limited features, but made SAS more accessible. Version 5 introduced a complete macro language, array subscripts, and a full-screen interactive user interface called Display Manager.<ref name="expert"/> In 1985, SAS was rewritten in the [[C programming language]]. This enabled the SAS' MultiVendor Architecture which allows the software to run on [[UNIX]], [[MS-DOS]], and [[Windows]]. It was previously written in [[PL/I]], [[Fortran]], and [[assembly language]].<ref name="timeline"/><ref name="expert"/>

In the 1980s and 1990s, SAS released a number of components to complement Base SAS. SAS/GRAPH, which produces graphics, was released in 1980, as well as the SAS/ETS component, which supports econometric and time series analysis. A component intended for pharmaceutical users, SAS/PH-Clinical, was released in the 1990s. The [[Food and Drug Administration]] standardized on using SAS/PH-Clinical for new drug applications in 2002.<ref name="timeline">
{{cite news
| url=http://www.wral.com/business/story/9211429/
| title=SAS corporate timeline|date=March 3, 2011
| access-date=October 17, 2011}}</ref> Vertical products like SAS Financial Management and SAS Human Capital Management (then called CFO Vision and HR Vision respectively) were also introduced.<ref>
{{cite web
| url=http://www.sas.com/company/about/history.html#s1=5
| title=SAS history
| publisher=SAS Institute
| access-date=October 4, 2013}}</ref>

[[JMP (statistical software)|JMP]] was developed by SAS co-founder [[John Sall]] and a team of developers, in order to take advantage of the graphical user interface introduced in the 1984 [[Apple Macintosh]].<ref name="CoxGaudard2009">
{{cite book
| author1=Cox, Ian |author2=Marie A. Gaudard
| author3=Philip J. Ramsey |author4=Mia L. Stephens |author5=Leo Wright
| title=Visual Six Sigma: Making Data Analysis Lean
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xdg9nkBFh1UC&pg=PA23
| access-date=16 November 2012|date=21 December 2009
| publisher=John Wiley & Sons
| isbn=978-0-470-50691-2
| page=23}}</ref> JMP's name originally stood for "John's Macintosh Project".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishra |first=Mrigendra Nath |date=2018-01-01 |title=Identify critical success factors to implement integrated green and Lean Six Sigma |url=https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLSS-07-2017-0076 |journal=International Journal of Lean Six Sigma |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=765–777 |doi=10.1108/IJLSS-07-2017-0076 |issn=2040-4166|url-access=subscription }}</ref> JMP was shipped for the first time in 1989. Updated versions of JMP were released continuously after 2002 with the most recent release in 2016.<ref name="jumptwo">{{cite news
| first=John
| last=Saul
| newspaper=JMPer Cable
| url=http://www.jmp.com/about/newsletters/jmpercable/pdf/26_winter_2010.pdf
| title=JMP is 20 Years Old
| date=Winter 2010
| access-date=October 13, 2011
| archive-date=July 21, 2013
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721134831/http://www.jmp.com/about/newsletters/jmpercable/pdf/26_winter_2010.pdf
| url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite news
| first=Adrian
| url=http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/228200027?queryText=SAS%2BJMP
| last=Bridgewater|newspaper=Dr. Dobb's Journal
| title=JMP Genomics 5: Data Visualization & Exploration|date=November 3, 2010
| access-date=May 31, 2012}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
| url=http://www.pharmasug.org/proceedings/2012/DG/PharmaSUG-2012-DG01.pdf
| work=PharmaSUG 2012
| title=Proficiency in JMP Visualization
| first=Charles
| last=Shipp
| author2=Kirk Paul Lafler
| access-date=December 30, 2012}}</ref><ref name="thirtyeight">
{{cite web
| first=James
| last=Taylor
| title=First Look – JMP Pro
| date=August 10, 2011
| access-date=May 31, 2012
| url=http://jtonedm.com/2011/08/10/first-look-jmp-pro/}}</ref> In January 2022, JMP became a [[wholly owned subsidiary]] of SAS Institute, having previously been a business unit of the company.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.jmp.com/en_us/company/about-us.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216205905/https://www.jmp.com/en_us/company/about-us.html |archive-date=2022-12-16 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=www.jmp.com |language=en}}</ref>

SAS 6 was used throughout the 1990s and was available on a wider range of operating systems, including [[Macintosh]], [[OS/2]], [[Silicon Graphics]], and [[PRIMOS]]. SAS introduced new features through dot-releases. From 6.06 to 6.09, a user interface based on the Windows paradigm was introduced and support for SQL was added.<ref>
{{cite book
| first=Kirk Paul
| last=Lafler
| title=PROC SQL: Beyond the Basics Using SAS, Second Edition
| url=https://www.sas.com/store/books/categories/usage-and-reference/proc-sql-beyond-the-basics-using-sas-second-edition/prodBK_62432_en.html
| publisher=SAS Institute
| isbn=978-1-61290-027-8| year=2013
}}</ref> Version 7 introduced the Output Delivery System (ODS) and an improved text editor. Subsequent releases improved upon the ODS. For example, more output options were added in version 8. The number of operating systems that were supported was reduced to [[UNIX]], [[Windows]] and [[z/OS]], and [[Linux]] was added.<ref name="supported systems">
{{cite web
| url=http://support.sas.com/supportos/list
| title=Supported Operating Systems
| publisher=SAS Institute
| access-date=October 6, 2012}}</ref> SAS 8 and SAS Enterprise Miner were released in 1999.<ref name="timeline"/>

===Recent history===
In 2002, SAS Text Miner software was introduced. Text Miner [[text mining|analyzes text data]] like emails for patterns in [[business intelligence]] applications.<ref>{{cite news|first=Emery|last=Dalesio|title=Text Miner program to bolster business intelligence |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=20020205&id=ljUgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GFMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4836,3215963 |date=February 5, 2002|access-date=April 8, 2014|publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> In 2004, SAS Version 9.0 was released, referred to as "Project Mercury" internally, and was designed to make SAS accessible to a broader range of business users.<ref name="sixtyfour">{{cite news
| first=Dave
| last=Steven
| publisher=Pennsylvania State University
| url=http://css.its.psu.edu/news/nlsu02/sas.html
| title=SAS is Starting to Look Even Better...
| date=July 29, 2002
| access-date=October 17, 2011
| archive-date=April 15, 2012
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415161357/http://css.its.psu.edu/news/nlsu02/sas.html
| url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref name="sixtyfive">
{{cite news
| first=Rick
| last=Whiting
| newspaper=InformationWeek
| url=http://informationweek.com/news/18700087?queryText=SAS+announced
| title=SAS Extends Business Intelligence to the Masses
| date=March 31, 2004
| access-date=October 17, 2011}}</ref> SAS 9.0 added custom user interfaces based on the user's role and established the point-and-click user interface of SAS Enterprise Guide as the software's primary [[graphical user interface]] (GUI).<ref name="sixtyfour"/> The [[Customer Relationship Management]] (CRM) features were improved in 2004 with SAS Interaction Management.<ref name="sixtythree">
{{cite news
| first=Dennis
| last=Callaghan
| newspaper=eWeek
| url=http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Finance-IT/SAS-to-Add-to-Analytical-CRM-Arsenal/
| title=SAS to Add to Analytical CRM Arsenal
| date=September 26, 2002
| access-date=October 17, 2011}}</ref> In 2008, SAS announced Project Unity, designed to integrate data quality, data integration, and [[master data management]].<ref name="sixtysix">
{{cite news
| first=Antone
| last=Gonsalves
| newspaper=InformationWeek
| url=http://informationweek.com/news/software/bi/211100027?queryText=SAS+announced
| title=SAS, DataFlux Unveil 'Project Unity'
| date=October 10, 2008
| access-date=October 17, 2011}}</ref>

[[SAS Institute Inc v World Programming Ltd]] was a lawsuit with developers of a competing implementation, [[World Programming System]], alleging that they had infringed SAS's copyright in part by implementing the same functionality. The case was referred by the United Kingdom's [[High Court of Justice]] to the [[European Court of Justice]] on 11 August 2010.<ref name="ecj reference">
{{cite web
| url=http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=82474&doclang=en&mode=&part=1
| title=Reference for a preliminary ruling from High Court of Justice (Chancery Division) (England and Wales) made on 11 August 2010 – SAS Institute Inc. v World Programming Ltd
| publisher=European Court of Justice
| access-date=May 19, 2012}}</ref> In May 2012, the [[European Court of Justice]] ruled in favor of World Programming, finding that "the functionality of a computer program and the programming language cannot be protected by copyright."<ref>
{{cite web
| url=http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2012-05/cp120053en.pdf
| title=The functionality of a computer program and the programming language cannot be protected by copyright
| publisher=European Court of Justice
| access-date=May 19, 2012}}</ref>

A free version of SAS was introduced for students in 2010.<ref name="fortyeight">{{cite news|first=Quentin|last=Hardy|newspaper=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/quentinhardy/2011/06/09/sas-ibms-bad-culture-how-well-win/|title=SAS-We Spurned IBM, Now to Win|date=June 9, 2011|access-date=October 17, 2011}}</ref> SAS Social Media Analytics, a tool for social media monitoring, engagement and [[sentiment analysis]], was also released that year.<ref name="twentyseven">
{{cite news
| first=Paul
| last=Greenberg
| work=ZDNet
| url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-crm-watchlist-part-ii-the-usual-suspects/?tag=mantle_skin;content
| title=The CRM Watchlist Part II: The Usual Suspects
| date=December 31, 2010
| access-date=October 4, 2013}}</ref> SAS Rapid Predictive Modeler (RPM), which creates basic analytical models using [[Microsoft Excel]], was introduced the same year.<ref name="ninetyfour">{{cite web
| publisher=UCLA Academic Technology Services
| url=http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/sas/seminars/sas_macros_introduction/default.htm
| title=Computing Seminars: Introduction to SAS Macro Language
| access-date=October 4, 2013
| archive-date=September 27, 2013
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927123945/http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/sas/seminars/sas_macros_introduction/default.htm
| url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref name="sixtyseven">
{{cite news
| first=Cindi
| last=Howson
| newspaper=InformationWeek
| url=http://informationweek.com/blog/software/228900553?queryText=SAS+announced
| title=SAS Takes Predictive Analytics Mainstream|date=September 7, 2010
| access-date=October 4, 2013}}</ref> In 2010, JMP 9 included a new interface for using the [[R (programming language)|R programming language]] and an add-in for MS Excel.<ref>{{cite web|title=New Features in JMP 9 |url=http://www.jmp.com/support/downloads/pdf/jmp9/jmp9_new_features.pdf |publisher=JMP|access-date=December 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915204632/https://www.jmp.com/support/downloads/pdf/jmp9/jmp9_new_features.pdf|archive-date=15 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Adriian|url=http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/228200027?queryText=SAS%2BJMP |last=Bridgewater|newspaper=Dr. Dobb's Journal|title=JMP Genomics 5: Data Visualization & Exploration |date=November 3, 2010|access-date=May 31, 2012}}</ref> The following year, a [[High Performance Computing]] platform was made available in a partnership with [[Teradata]] and [[EMC Greenplum]].<ref>
{{cite news
| first=Nicole
| last=Laskowski
| publisher=Tech Target
| url=http://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/news/2240102699/SAS-ups-big-data-ante-with-high-performance-computing-platform
| title=SAS ups 'big data' ante with high-performance computing platform
| date=October 26, 2011
| access-date=October 4, 2013}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
| first=Madan
| last=Sheina
| author2=Surya Mukherjee
| publisher=Ovum
| url=http://ovum.com/2011/10/17/sas-adds-in-memory-to-high-performance-computing/
| title=SAS adds in-memory to high-performance computing
| date=October 17, 2011}}</ref> In 2011, the company released SAS Enterprise Miner 7.1.<ref>
{{cite web
| first=James
| last=Taylor
| title=First Look – SAS Enterprise Miner 7.1
| url=http://jtonedm.com/2011/11/11/first-look-sas-enterprise-miner-7-1/
| date=November 11, 2011
| access-date=October 4, 2013}}</ref> The company introduced 27 data management products from October 2013 to October 2014 and updates to 160 others.<ref>{{cite news|title=SAS expands cloud analytics business|first=Nestor|last=Arellano|date=October 22, 2014 |url=http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/sas-expands-cloud-analytics-business/98450l|newspaper=IT World Canada|access-date=November 13, 2014}}</ref> At the SAS Global Forum 2015, SAS announced several new products that were specialized for different industries, as well as new training software.<ref>{{cite news|title=SAS enlarges its palette for big data analysis|first=Joab|last=Jackson|date=April 27, 2015|url=http://www.itworld.com/article/2915374/sas-enlarges-its-palette-for-big-data-analysis.html|publisher=IT World|access-date=May 22, 2015|archive-date=November 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128121843/https://www.itworld.com/article/2915374/sas-enlarges-its-palette-for-big-data-analysis.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The company has invested in the development of artificial general intelligence, or "strong AI", with the goal of advancing deep learning and natural language processing to the point of achieving cognitive computing.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Radu |first=Alex |date=March 28, 2017 |title=We've only built 'weak AI' so far, says SAS chief data scientist |url=https://channeldailynews.com/news/weve-only-built-weak-ai-so-far-says-sas-chief-data-scientist/53586 |work=Channel Daily News}}</ref>

In 2019, SAS announced that it would be investing $1 billion into the development of advanced artificial intelligence, deep learning, natural language processing and [[machine learning]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=East |first=Forbes Middle |title=SAS Announces $1 Billion Investment In AI |url=https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/innovation/technology/sas-announces-1-billion-investment-in-ai |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Forbes ME |language=en-US}}</ref> It announced an additional $1 billion investment into these areas in 2023, particularly for industries such as finance, insurance, government, health care and energy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ohnesorge |first=Lauren |date=May 9, 2023 |title=SAS to spend $1 billion on AI as global tech race heats up |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/inno/stories/news/2023/05/09/sas-to-spend-one-billion-global-ai-race-heats-up.html |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Triangle Inno}}</ref> In September 2023, the company announced its expansion of research into the applications of [[generative AI]] in analytics, data management and modeling.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-18 |title=SAS unveils innovations and partnerships during Explore 2023 {{!}} IT World Canada News |url=https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/sas-unveils-innovations-and-partnerships-during-explore-2023/546983 |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=www.itworldcanada.com |language=en-US}}</ref>