Three tools from the same authors fit together. Each is useful alone.
| Sapling SAP | DataStep Studio | DataStep Studio for R | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | An editor extension to write the statistical analysis plan as a structured document, and to make the specifications, programs, tables and dashboard from it. | An extension to run, debug and check SAS programs in VS Code. | An extension to run, debug and check R programs in VS Code, in one live R session. |
| Who it is for | The trial statistician, first. Then the statistical programmer and the head of biometrics. | The SAS programmer. | The R programmer; made for clinical work (ADaM, TLFs, pharmaverse), useful for any R project. |
| Its command line | sapling | datastep | dsr |
Who does what#
Sapling writes the programs. The two Studios run them.
- Sapling makes the SAS programs and the R programs from the plan. Running them goes through the Studios.
- SAS programs run through DataStep Studio (
datastep): run, log, pry and trace for a macro that misbehaves. DataStep Studio is for SAS 9.4 and SAS OnDemand. - In a study folder, the R engine runs through DataStep Studio for R (
dsr), which keeps one R session that you and the tools share.
What works without the others#
- Sapling alone: write and check the plan, the decision interview, the review, the PDF and Word, and the SAS programs (
sapling sas programsneeds no SAS). Nothing in that needs SAS or R. The design simulation and the Method Lab need R and some packages, and the editor says so when they are missing. The ADaM and TLF specifications and the R programs use the R engine. - Sapling with DataStep Studio for R: the ADaM data, the tables, the results and the dashboard of the R engine.
- Sapling with DataStep Studio: the SAS programs run on your SAS server, every number of R is compared with the number of SAS, and the SAS dashboard is built from the run.
- Each Studio without Sapling: it is a SAS or an R editor and debugger on its own. Neither needs Sapling.
sapling doctor checks the machine and prints the fix for each missing piece, and Sapling: Check What Sapling Needs does it in the editor.