SAS to Spectrum Writer Conversion FAQ

Can Spectrum Writer execute SAS programs?
No. Like SAS, Spectrum Writer is a powerful report writer. However, each program uses its own unique language to produce custom reports and output files. You will need to convert your SAS programs to use Spectrum Writer's easy 4GL language.
Back to top

Is there a conversion program we can use to convert SAS programs to Spectrum Writer programs? Unfortunately, there is no program that can convert an entire SAS program to Spectrum Writer automatically. SAS is a largely procedural language (something like a simplified COBOL). Spectrum Writer, on the other hand, uses a non-procedural 4GL language. There is no line-by-line way to "translate" from one to the other.

However, we do offer this free online tool—our "SAS to Spectrum Writer Conversion Helper". This program automates a part of the process.
Back to top

We have over 100 existing SAS programs. What can we do?
If you want to drop SAS as soon as possible, consider hiring temporary contractors to convert all the programs right away. (You'll recoup that one-time expense from the annual savings in license fees after SAS is gone.) Or you could plan your conversion over a longer term. Start now to write all new your queries and reports with Spectrum Writer. Then use existing staff to gradually convert the old SAS programs as time permits. Once you're fully converted, you can drop SAS.
Back to top

How long does it take to convert a program.
That depends of course on the length and complexity of the program. Beyond that, it depends on where you are in the learning curve. The first program you convert will take the longest because you will be a very new and inexperienced Spectrum Writer user. (We're of course happy to provide advice and suggestions to you in that stage.) Once you've got the basic approach down, your conversions will go much faster. Also, we've noticed that most shops have groups of related report programs. (For example, there may be a number of programs that all read the same input file and produce the same basic report layout. Each report just has a different selection criteria, time range, daily vs. weekly, summary vs. detail, different sort order, etc. Obviously, once you've converted one of these programs, you can quickly whip out the other similar reports.
Back to top

Does Pacific Systems Group offer conversion services?
Please contact us to inquire about our current availablility for limited, contract programming services.
Back to top

Can 100% of our SAS programs be converted to run under Spectrum Writer.
Your programs that use SAS as a report writer (ie., read an input file, select certain records, compute various values, sort and print a nicely formatted report, with control breaks and subtotals) can be replaced with a Spectrum Writer program. If you have SAS programs that use SAS's advanced statistical features, you may not be able to replace those with Spectrum Writer. (If you only have a few such programs and want to eliminate SAS, you could consider re-writing those programs in COBOL, or some other language). A 30-day trial is a good way to find out if Spectrum Writer is a good alternative for the kind of SAS programs that your shop has.
Back to top