Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:12:15 -0600
Reply-To: Alan Churchill <savian001@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From: Alan Churchill <savian001@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Keeping Sane with Multiple Languages
In-Reply-To: <88651ac4-6b8e-4e3e-9d40-0999574c86f6@d45g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>
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Nothing will cover them all but C# will definitely be able to help. I
believe there are C# interfaces for SPSS now and I regularly work with SAS
data using C#.
For things such as Excel and Word, you can use C# via VSTO. I also just used
C# against MS Project.
I doubt if there is a panacea but I think you will like C#, especially 3.5.
LINQ also promises to make your life a lot easier. LINQ is pure sweetness
but it takes getting used to. Extension methods will also jazz up your
world.
If you do decide to go the C# route, use my Data Management Utilities to
make your life with SAS easier. They are free.
I like C#, as you can probably tell ;-] Now back to coding in it...
Alan
Alan Churchill
Savian
www.savian.net
-----Original Message-----
From: SAS(r) Discussion [mailto:SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Anthony
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2008 8:39 PM
To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Keeping Sane with Multiple Languages
I've just started working for a health policy research foundation. I
was hired as a data analyst, so I don't work on any one project or
area. Instead, I support other researchers by providing computer
technical support, statistical analyses, and whatever miscellaneous
computer programming they need. Unfortunately, the different groups
of people who I provide statistical computing support to don't all use
the same language. Some teams use SAS, others use SPSS, STATA, and
SUDAAN. I know it's inevitable that I'll have to learn all of these
languages well at some point, but I wonder if there's any language out
there that would make the most sense for me to invest my time in..
for instance, I know that anyone working in VB Script AND Visual
FoxPro should learn C#, because C# can easily communicate with both
and this results in far less work for the programmer. For my
situation, where I'm going across all of these statistical packages
(and maybe some VB Script too), does there exist a good language that
can interface with all of them via an API or DDE? I know Python is
commonly used for SPSS, but I'd like something that covers them all.
I'd really appreciate your advice, as I'm having a bit of a difficult
time juggling all of the different syntaxes.
Thanks in advance.
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