I've used both systems. I used SAS/GRAPH for years, creating complex graphics for high level presentations and found it to be highly flexible and easy to use with sufficient training and experience. With SAS adding more output modes and devices with each release, it only improves.

SPlus is also a good product. It is a little more what I would call programmer-intense though. The programs I worked with were C-like object oriented function creations. The interface with SAS is basically seemless.

I do question the application of SPlus sometimes though--people seem to do a lot of SAS data step/SQL programming previous to a SPlus call, then use SPlus to do even more data processing. My take on it is either use SAS to its full capability or don't bother.

Unfortunately, like all other selection of data systems it does come down to personal preference and skill. Long gone is the time of any kind of easily supportable, sane data solution for the majority of users in large organizations.

However, my vote is for SAS for everything that it can do: analysis, stats, graphics, reports, systems, databases, etc....

On Fri, 5 Nov 1999 12:28:42 -0500, Bross, Dean S wrote:

> I have used a few languages with the same principles > as R going all the way back to APL, including IML when > it was PROC MATRIX, although I've never used S+. There > is a good one called EULER which will run on WINDOWS 95 > and I think its much better than R. You can get > information at: > http://mathsrv.ku-eichstaett.de/MGF/homes/grothmann/euler/euler.html > > Dean Bross > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Michael Bramley-M [mailto:bramley.m@PG.COM] > > Sent: Friday, November 05, 1999 11:23 AM > > To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU > > Subject: Re: SAS vs SPlus > > > > > > I don't mean to be harsh, but it sounds as though S+ is not > > really been given a > > chance. It can do many things very quickly and provide you > > with presentation > > results for graphics every time with little work. This is > > unlike SAS/GRAPH, > > where I often have to hammer away at it to get it to produce > > what I want, only > > to discover that the results look possitively disturbing when > > I import them into > > WORD, etc. Or that I have to back-door it into my app. > > > > This may be an artifact of my having more S+ than SAS > > experience, but I truly > > find that the "point/click/generalize and save the generated > > code" method can > > work so much easier/quicker than clunking around for old SAS > > programs. I can > > generate graphs a lot faster than I can find old programs > > that did <insert > > function here>. Maybe this means I should start indexing code/projects > > better...? > > > > Either way, S+ has truly improved itself over the years, and > > I find it so much > > easier than SAS to perform EDA (that I can present to the > > client quickly). I am > > in the midst of getting R up and running (inc. all of the > > free packages), so my > > cost may plummet. However, I will constantly be looking for > > that gui front end > > that makes it oh-so easy to do what *I* want. > > > > > > BTW: I don't have to take much in the way of medication <g> > > > > > > FWIW, my $0.02... > > > > Michael Bramley > >

rc

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