Date:         Tue, 3 Sep 1996 10:46:43 EST
Reply-To:     Jerry Dallal <jerry@MINT.HNRC.TUFTS.EDU>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         Jerry Dallal <jerry@MINT.HNRC.TUFTS.EDU>
Organization: Tufts University
Subject:      Re: SPSS vs SAS

In article <50fcor$okb@ground.cs.columbia.edu>, reddy@news.cs.columbia.edu
(Chandrasekhar Reddy) writes:
> Hi:
>
> Hope I don't start a war.
 
Nah, we don't have the time.
 
> Can someone compare SAS and SPSS on the following dimensions:
> 1. Data handling abilities
 
I was about to say, "There are lots of things you can do in SAS that
you can't do in SPSS.  The question is whether you will ever need to do
them."  But as I started typing, a different question arose in my mind,
namely, can SPSS be viewed as a subset of SAS--that is, is there
any data handling task that can be done in SPSS that can't be done in
SAS?  Again, an affirmative answer does not make SPSS an inferior
program.  There's still the issue of whether you would need the
capabilities that SAS provides over and above those of SPSS.