NOTE: Your Response: EG & Studio

As Mark Twain is oft (incorrectly) quoted as saying: "Reports of my death are much exaggerated". I didn't say that Enterprise Guide (EG) was anywhere close to death when I (contentiously) wrote NOTE: What is SAS Studio? RIP Enterprise Guide? but I did suggest that there were good reasons to think that the web-based SAS Studio is in the ascendancy and that there might be a point in the future where it has sufficient features to make most sites seriously question whether it should be offered to users.

I got a numbers of comments in response (online and offline). Of the online comments, I was pretty certain when writing the original article that it would elicit a thoughtful and balanced response from Chris Hemedinger (@cjdinger), and I wasn't disappointed! Chris pointed-out that EG is still receiving new features (a sure sign of life in a software product). As Chris said, the rate of change has slowed (as it should for a mature product), but many SAS users still see it as an essential part of the toolbox. And Chris provided a link to a neat TechTalks video from this year's SAS Global Forum of Christie Corcoran (Development Manager for SAS Studio) talking about SAS Studio and its place alongside SAS Enterprise Guide. It's a nicely informative video, hosted informally by Chris. As Christie says in the video, SAS Studio is "another great way to get to your SAS".

Of the features in EG but not Studio, Eric Winslow highlighted Stored Processes. Eric pointed-out that Stored Processes are a great means for groups to share code. Within EG there is more than one means of simple and easily accessing Stored Processes (and editing and updating them). Whilst it could be said that PROC STP allows Stored Processes to be accessed from any SAS program (and hence Stored Processes are accessible from Studio), I imagine that Eric appreciates the interactivity available for executing Stored Processes in EG, plus the ability to manage the software development lifecycle in a more integrated and coherent fashion. Doubtless, explicit support for Stored Processes will come to Studio in time.

And, my old friend Phil Holland reminded me that he presented a paper on EG and Studio at this year's SAS Global Forum: "SAS Enterprise Guide or SAS Studio: Which is Best for You?". Oops, sorry Phil!  You can find Phil's excellent paper at the bottom of his extremely long list of papers presented at conferences on his web site. Phil's 23-page paper takes the reader through features, techniques and tips before offering some sound recommendations that are based upon the experience of the user in question.