Date:         Sat, 3 Jun 2006 05:37:13 -0700
Reply-To:     lzhang9830@YAHOO.COM
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Lei Zhang <lzhang9830@YAHOO.COM>
Organization: http://groups.google.com
Subject:      Re: SAS as a programming language (OT: Response)
Comments: To: sas-l@uga.edu
In-Reply-To:  <129a50e0606021555s224eb3cehb2774640b5b52634@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hi Joe,
     Compared with other Macro languages, SAS Macro is a good one.

LZ


Joe Whitehurst wrote:
> LZ,
>
> I think the comparison is more like comparing a Java or C# apple with all
> the items in a Whole Foods Supermarket--even the discarded rotten produce
> (Macro Language)!
>
> Joe
>
>
> On 6/2/06, Lei Zhang <lzhang9830@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hi David and Chang,
> >       The thread is about "SAS as a programming language".
> >      I agree with you. We certainly don't want to compare "the SAS
> > System" with Java or C#, since it compares orange with apple, which is
> > meaningless.
> >
> >       However, if we like,  we  can still compare the features between
> > the programming lanaguage SAS implements and Java or C#.
> >       Assume that JCl is 1GL,   PL/1 or Fortran is 2 GL, and Java or
> > C# is 3GL, then
> >
> >              SAS = 50% * 1GL  + 35% * 2GL + 15% * 3GL <  4GL.
> >
> >     My hope is that they will raise the percentage of 3GL in the SAS
> > System in the near future.
> >
> > LZ
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > David L Cassell wrote:
> > > MrBubbleTea@GMAIL.COM wrote back:
> > > >Hi David,
> > > >
> > > >       What is the definition on 4GL? Is Java or C#  3GL, or 5GL?
> > > >
> > > >       I was told that "Java is a World" and "SAS is a System", Which
> > > >one is bigger?
> > > >
> > > >       I am really confused !
> > >
> > > A '4GL' was a 4th Generation Language.  Which was *supposed* to be
> > better
> > > than 3GLs and 2GLs, but turned out to be domain-specific and not as
> > > extensible.
> > > Some 4GLs like SAS have expanded their capabilities in some areas while
> > > maintaining the 4GL concept in others.  For example, you can use a DATA
> > step
> > > to do a vast variety of standard procedural language methodologies, but
> > you
> > > certainly can't say the same about PROC MEANS.  And you're not supposed
> > to.
> > >
> > > Technically, Java and C# would be 3GLs, but that's a huge
> > > over-simplification.
> > > 3GLs were only supposed to be the block-procedural languages, so I
> > > personally
> > > think of modern languages like Java and C# as falling outside the
> > outdated
> > > (may I say 'antiquated' here without causing a furor?) xGL
> > classification
> > > system.
> > > On the other hand, if you look at the complete failure of 5GLs to get
> > off
> > > the
> > > ground, then perhaps you can assume that the size of the number is
> > inversely
> > > realted to the utility of the language!  :-)  :-)  :-)  The fact is that
> > > 4GLs tend
> > > to be domain-specific, while regular programming languages are supposed
> > to
> > > be as non-domain-specific as possible.
> > >
> > > Rather than comparing the 'Java World' and the 'SAS System', perhaps it
> > is
> > > more instructive to think of them as going off in different directions.
> > > Draw
> > > an X-Y graph.  Then let Java be a vector down the x-axis, and SAS a
> > vector
> > > down the y-axis.  Regardless of the size of these vectors, they are not
> > > directly
> > > comparable.  Oh sure, you can do all sorts of metrics to try to compare
> > > them,
> > > but different metrics will yield different results on your
> > comparison.  So
> > > the
> > > best thing to do is not try to compare them, except for specific tasks.
> > >
> > > If we have to perform a set of tasks, we can do a comparison.  Which
> > > language will be 'better' for Task A?  Task B?  Note that 'better' is
> > not
> > > only subjective, but personal.  A task that I might choose to do in
> > Perl,
> > > Alan Churchill would do in C# and Roy Pardee might do in VB, but only
> > > because we are more familiar with the ins and outs of the respective
> > > languages.  That doesn't make Perl better than C#, or vice versa.  It
> > > only makes 'programmer efficiency' part of the equation, which makes
> > > comparisons even messier.
> > >
> > > There are some areas in which I prefer Perl or C# or Ruby over SAS.
> > > While SAS has a great deal of power and flexibility, I would not design
> > > a web-robot in it, nor would I build a system admin process in it.
> > > However, I would certainly not choose Perl or C# or Ruby if I needed
> > > to fit nonlinear curves to data.
> > >
> > > So just try not to 'compare' languages on generic features.  As Larry
> > Wall
> > > once said, "The utility of a programming language is inversely
> > proportional
> > > to the number of axes its creator had to grind."  :-)
> > >
> > > David
> > > --
> > > David L. Cassell
> > > mathematical statistician
> > > Design Pathways
> > > 3115 NW Norwood Pl.
> > > Corvallis OR 97330
> > >
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> >