AD06 Meta Data + HTML = Automated Status Reports     Invited

George DeMuth StatTech Services, Ltd. ,Mike DeSpirito StatTech Services, Ltd. ,Frank C. DiIorio
CodeCrafters, Inc.
Abstract: Let’s be realistic – no one looks forward to writing status reports. Even if everything is up to date and fine, reporting this good news still requires time and effort. Couple this with the typical programmer’s desire to automate everything in sight, and y ou have … CONTENTS, a tool to generate project status reports. This paper describes the need for and evolution of the program, and discusses the file structures, and coding techniques we employed. We focus on two key ingredients that make programs like CON TENTS feasible, successful, and relatively easy to code. The first is meta data. Our program, and many others in the project, uses this high-level “data about data” to determine what tables and listings should be generated. Once this is known, we know what output / reports should be generated. The second key ingredient of the program, ODS-generated HTML, can then be used to communicate what has, actually, been produced. The reader should come away from this presentation with an appreciation of the utility o f meta data, an understanding of how to convert this data into a useful and visually appealing format, and a knowledge of some basic ODS SAS programming techniques. The paper will probably not, however, increase the reader’s appetite to write status report s.

Biography:
George DeMuth is President of Stat-Tech Services, LLC and has more than ten years of SAS programming experience. Mr. DeMuth has developed SAS/Macro systems, SAS/IntrNet systems, and tools for reporting clinical trials. George has an interest in interactive reporting using the internet.

Michael DeSpirito is a statistical programmer with Stat-Tech Services, LLC. Mr. DeSpirito produces analyses for clinical trials, has developed SAS/IntrNet applications, and has provided ODS and ODS/HTML support for Stat-Tech Services, LLC.

Frank DiIorio is Director, SAS System Development at Advanced Integrated Manufacturing Solutions Corporation (AIMS), a manufacturing systems integrator. He has over 25 years' experience with Base SAS and products such as SAS/GRAPH, SAS/AF, SAS/GRAPH, SAS/Q C, SAS/Intrnet, and SAS/FSP. He has worked in educational research, financial, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing environments, focusing on program efficiency, report writing, the macro language, and user interface design issues. Much of the knowledge gaine d from these varied work environments has been committed to paper - he has written many papers presented at local, regional, and international SAS user groups. Frank is also the author of two SAS programming texts, which have sold over 25,000 copies ("SAS Applications Programming: A Gentle Introduction" and, co-authored with Kenneth Hardy, "Quick Start to Data Analysis with SAS"). A third book, "The Elements of SAS Programming Style," is being developed and will be available in 2002. Frank is also active in