sasjs-core

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Standards and conventions for the @sasjs/core SAS macro library (mf_*, mp_*, mm*, ms_*, mv_* macros). Use when writing or editing SAS macros in a sasjs/core-style repo, when choosing an existing macro instead of reinventing one, or when asked about the sasjs/core build, lint, doxygen header, or testing conventions.

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@sasjs/core — SAS Macro Library

@sasjs/core is an MIT-licensed library of production-quality SAS macros for SAS application development, portable across SAS 9 (meta), Viya, and SASjs server.

Coding standards (mandatory)

One macro per file; filename must match the macro name (lowercase, no spaces)
Macro definitions must use parentheses:
```
%macro x();
```
not
```
%macro x;
```
Macro calls are NOT terminated with a semicolon:
```
%my_macro()
```
not
```
%my_macro();
```
All macro variables must be declared
```
%local
```
to prevent scope leakage
2-space indentation, no tabs, no trailing spaces, no invisible characters, max line length 300 (hard lint limit) but keep lines to 80 chars max where possible
Every file must have a Doxygen header:

sas

/**
  @file
  @brief One-line description of the macro

  <h4> SAS Macros </h4>
  @li mf_othermacro.sas

  @param [in] paramname Description
  @param [out] outparam Description

  <h4> Related Macros </h4>
  @li mp_related.sas

  @version 9.4
  @author Your Name
**/

Folder / prefix conventions

Folder	Prefix	Platform
`base/`	`mf_` (function-style), `mp_` (procedure-style)	All platforms
`meta/`	`mm_`	SAS 9 metadata
`metax/`	`mmx_`	SAS 9 metadata (OS command dependent)
`viya/`	`mv_`	Viya
`server/`	`ms_`	SASjs server
`xplatform/`	`mx_`	Runtime platform detection
`fcmp/` , `lua/` , `ddl/`	—	PROC FCMP functions, LUA wrappers, DDL

Use

mf_

macros when the macro returns a value usable in an expression; use

mp_

for procedural macros that generate code/statements.

Reuse before writing

Before writing a new macro, check the library for an existing one — common utilities already exist, e.g.

mp_abort

(the deprecated

mf_abort

is retained for backwards compatibility — don't use it in new code),

mf_existds

,

mf_existvar

,

mf_existfileref

,

mf_getuser

,

mp_jsonout

(SAS datasets → JSON for

_webout

),

mp_ds2ddl

,

mp_hashdataset

. Platform-specific variants exist under

meta/

,

viya/

,

server/

and are selected at compile time by the CLI.

Aborting safely

Never invoke

%mp_abort

from inside an

%if/%else

block — as a procedural macro, the macro processor can continue executing statements after it before the abort takes effect. Use the

iftrue=

condition parameter instead:

sas

%mp_abort(iftrue= (&syscc ne 0)
  ,mac=&_program
  ,msg=%str(Something went wrong)
)

When

%mp_abort

is called from within a

%include

block, SAS cannot exit cleanly (e.g. to

_webout

). Call

%mp_abort(mode=INCLUDE)

after the include (OUTSIDE any macro wrapper) — it checks

work.mp_abort_errds

for an abort status:

sas

%mp_abort(mode=INCLUDE)

Note:

%include

s inside macros should be performed with

%mp_include()

so the

_SYSINCLUDEFILEDEVICE

indicator is set and the abort dataset (

work.mp_abort_errds

) is passed back to the calling program.

Lint and build

Run
```
sasjs lint
```
after every change; do not consider work done until it passes
NEVER bump the version in
```
package.json
```
(semantic-release handles it)
Do NOT edit generated files by hand:
```
all.sas
```
,
```
mc_*.sas
```
, the
```
lua/
```
wrappers, and
```
sasjsbuild/
```
outputs are produced by the CI build
Markdown files: never hard-wrap; one paragraph per line