When combining data in SAS, which one do you use: SQL join or DATA Step merge? For more efficiency, you may consider SQL; for more control, you may want to use the DATA Step. In this SAS How To Tutorial, SAS instructor Dominique Weatherspoon tells you the benefits of each and why it’s not a one-size-fits-all scenario. Download the Data Access the party data set Dominique uses on GitHub – https://github.com/sascommunities/sas-howto-tutorials/tree/master/mergedata Content Outline 00:00 – Welcome 00:45 – Set the scene with the data 02:39 – Overview of joins and merges 05:16 – Let’s see the SQL and DATA Step programs 07:20 – DATA Step Full Merge and SQL Full Join Results 07:53 – Which is faster? Check out options fullstimer; 08:13 – How to select specific columns and their order 11:02 – Benefits of including a DATA Step merge in your code 12:36 – DATA Step debugger 13:14 – Benefits of the SQL Join 15:07 – Considerations of both methods Learn more about SAS Software Traditional SAS Programming versus SQL – https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Traditional-SAS-Programming-versus-SQL/ta-p/451481 YouTube Video: Merging Data Sets in SAS using SQL – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhf747bz_nE Five reasons to use the SAS DATA Step or PROC SQL – https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/2010/12/17/five-reasons-to-use-the-sas-data-step-or-proc-sql/ Using DATA Step MERGE and PROC SQL JOIN to Combine SAS® Datasets - https://www.lexjansen.com/nesug/nesug09/ff/FF03.pdf SAS® 9.4 SQL Procedure User’s Guide, Fourth Edition – https://go.documentation.sas.com/api/docsets/sqlproc/9.4/content/sqlproc.pdf What are 10 Ways to Make My SAS Code Run More Efficiently? – https://www.sas.com/en_us/webinars/sas-code-run-more-efficiently.html?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=sas-gen-us Learning Subscription (Free for 30 days) – https://www.sas.com/gms/redirect.jsp?detail=GMS123646_190604 SUBSCRIBE TO THE SAS USERS YOUTUBE CHANNEL #SASUsers #LearnSAS https://www.youtube.com/SASUsers?sub_confirmation=1 ABOUT SAS SAS is a trusted analytics powerhouse for organizations seeking immediate value from their data. A deep bench of analytics solutions and broad industry knowledge keep our customers coming back and feeling confident. With SAS®, you can discover insights from your data and make sense of it all. Identify what’s working and fix what isn’t. Make more intelligent decisions. And drive relevant change. CONNECT WITH SAS SAS https://www.sas.com/contact SAS Customer Support https://support.sas.com SAS Communities https://communities.sas.com SAS Analytics Explorers https://explorers.sas.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SASsoftware Twitter https://www.twitter.com/SASsoftware LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/sas Blogs https://blogs.sas.com RSShttps://www.sas.com/rss