Use the CData ODBC Driver for Azure Data Catalog in SAS for Real-Time Reporting and Analytics

SAS is a software suite developed for advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics. When you pair SAS with the CData ODBC Driver for Azure Data Catalog, you gain database-like access to live Azure Data Catalog data from SAS, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. This article explains how to create a library for Azure Data Catalog in SAS and create a simple report based on real-time Azure Data Catalog data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Azure Data Catalog data in SAS due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAS to Azure Data Catalog, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Azure Data Catalog and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can easily visualize and analyze Azure Data Catalog data in SAS.

Connect to Azure Data Catalog as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Azure Data Catalog follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for Azure Data Catalog must be installed on the machine hosting the SAS System).

You can optionally set the following to read the different catalog data returned from Azure Data Catalog.

<>CatalogName: Set this to the CatalogName associated with your Azure Data Catalog. To get your Catalog name, navigate to your Azure Portal home page > Data Catalog > Catalog Name

Connect Using OAuth Authentication

You must use OAuth to authenticate with Azure Data Catalog. OAuth requires the authenticating user to interact with Azure Data Catalog using the browser. For more information, refer to the OAuth section in the help documentation.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Windows

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Azure Data Catalog in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData AzureDataCatalog Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Azure Data Catalog
Description = My Description
InitiateOAuth = GETANDREFRESH

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a Azure Data Catalog Library in SAS

Connect to Azure Data Catalog in SAS by adding a library based on the CData ODBC Driver for Azure Data Catalog.

1. Open SAS and expand Libraries in the Explorer pane.
2. In the Active Libraries window, right-click and select New.
3. Name your library (odbclib), select ODBC as the Engine, and click to Enable at startup (if you want the library to persist between sessions).
4. Set Data Source to the DSN you previously configured and click OK. 👁 Creating a library for Azure Data Catalog in SAS.
   

Create a View from a Azure Data Catalog Query

SAS natively supports querying data either using a low-code, point-and-click Query tool or programmatically with PROC SQL and a custom SQL query. When you create a View in SAS, the defining query is executed each time the view is queried. This means that you always query live Azure Data Catalog data for reports, charts, and analytics.

Using the Query Tool

1. In SAS, click Tools -> Query
2. Select the table sources and the table(s) you wish to pull data from. Then, click OK. 👁 Selecting table(s) to visualize.
   
3. Select columns and right-click to add filtering, ordering, grouping, etc. 👁 Selecting columns(s) to visualize and configuring the query.
   
4. Create a local view to contain the query results by right-clicking the SQL Query Tool window, selecting Show Query, and clicking Create View. Name the View and click OK. 👁 Create a local view to work with Azure Data Catalog data.
   

Using PROC SQL

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC SQL to query the data and create a local view.
   NOTE: This procedure creates a view in the Work library. You can optionally specify a library in the create view statement.

   proc sql;
    create view tables_view as
    select 
    dsladdressdatabase, 
    type 
    from 
    odbclib.tables 
    where 
    Name = 'FactProductInventory';
   quit;
   

3. Click Run -> Submit to execute the query and create a local view.

Report On or Visualize Azure Data Catalog Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze Azure Data Catalog data using the powerful SAS features. Print a simple report using PROC PRINT and create a basic graph based on the data using PROC GCHART.

Print an HTML Report

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC PRINT to print an HTML report for the Azure Data Catalog Tables data.

   proc print data=tables;
    title "Azure Data Catalog Tables Data";
   run;
   

   👁 A simple Azure Data Catalog data report.
   

Print a Chart

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC GCHART to create a chart for the Tables data.

   proc gchart data=tables;
    pie dsladdressdatabase / sumvar=type
    value=arrow
    percent=arrow
    noheading
    percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
    slice=inside value=none
    name='TablesChart';
   run;
   

   👁 A simple Azure Data Catalog data chart.