Free SAS® Certified Data Integration Developer for SAS® 9 Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the SAS® Certified Data Integration Developer for SAS® 9 practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1In the SAS Intelligence Platform, what does a SAS Application Server object represent?

   1. A. A physical server that directly executes every submitted SAS program
   2. B. A logical container for components that execute application code
   3. C. A metadata repository that stores table rows for all SAS libraries
   4. D. A client process that renders the Data Integration Studio desktop

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The guide states, "Rather, it is a logical container for a set of application server components, which do execute code". The container represents the server tier; components such as a workspace server execute the code.

   Reference: SAS Data Integration Studio 4.904: User’s Guide — Chapter 1, A Basic Data Integration Environment, p. 6

2. 2A user has the required SAS metadata permissions, but the operating system denies access to a source file. Which administrative change addresses the remaining access problem?

   1. A. Grant access to the physical file in the host security system.
   2. B. Grant additional metadata write access to the table object.
   3. C. Move the table metadata to a different shared metadata folder.
   4. D. Recreate the user's metadata connection profile with a new name.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The guide requires "read and write access to the sources and targets in the job, as specified by the operating system and other relevant systems such as database servers". Metadata permissions are a separate requirement and do not override host access denial.

   Reference: SAS Data Integration Studio 4.904: User’s Guide — Chapter 2, Security for SAS Data Integration Studio, p. 19

3. 3After the New Table wizard saves metadata for a target that does not yet exist, when is the physical table normally created?

   1. A. When the metadata server starts its next session
   2. B. When the target is first dragged into a process flow
   3. C. When the table's properties are first opened
   4. D. When the process flow that creates the target executes

   Answer: D

   Explanation: The guide states, "When the process flow is executed, SAS Data Integration Studio uses the metadata for the target table to create a physical instance of that table." Saving its definition alone does not create the physical target.

   Reference: SAS Data Integration Studio 4.904: User’s Guide — Chapter 4, Registering New Tables with the New Table Wizard, p. 84

4. 4An Extract transformation should retain only rows satisfying a condition on source values. Where should that condition be entered?

   1. A. The Extract transformation's Mappings tab
   2. B. The Extract transformation's Where tab
   3. C. The Extract transformation's Order by tab
   4. D. The Extract transformation's Status Handling tab

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The guide instructs users to open the Extract properties and "click the Where tab", then "Enter an appropriate WHERE condition in the Expression Text field." This condition filters rows rather than changing descriptive metadata or reporting execution statistics.

   Reference: SAS Data Integration Studio 4.904: User’s Guide — Appendix 3, Extracting Data from a Source Table, Specify Selection Conditions for the Target, p. 747

5. 5Which requirement specifically favors a separate Table Loader over a transformation's ordinary simple drop-and-replace output load?

   1. A. Filtering source rows before they reach the target
   2. B. Mapping source columns to differently named target columns
   3. C. Registering metadata for an existing physical target table
   4. D. Creating and managing key constraints during target loading

   Answer: D

   Explanation: The guide lists "creating primary keys, foreign keys, or column constraints" as a reason for a separate Table Loader. Row filtering, column mapping, and table registration have their own facilities and do not by themselves require this loader. The key-constraint lifecycle is the relevant reason to add it.

   Reference: SAS Data Integration Studio 4.904: User’s Guide — Chapter 19, About the Table Loader Transformation, p. 430

6. 6A generated transformation uses user-defined macro variables that should be set through each job instance's configuration interface. How should its template expose those values?

   1. A. Replace the variable references with fixed literals in the SAS code.
   2. B. Document variable names in code comments without defining options.
   3. C. Define corresponding options or prompts in the Transformation Generator.
   4. D. Retain variable references in code without exposing configurable values.

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The guide states, "You need to define each of the macro variables that are included in the transformation as an option." These options appear on the transformation's Options tab when it is used in a job.

   Reference: SAS Data Integration Studio 4.904: User’s Guide — Chapter 13, Create a Generated Transformation, p. 286

7. 7Applications must invoke a job on demand through their existing SAS stored-process execution interface. Which deployment approach makes the job available through that interface?

   1. A. Submit the job interactively from the Job Editor.
   2. B. Deploy the job as a SAS stored process.
   3. C. Deploy the job only for scheduled batch execution.
   4. D. Save generated SAS code for manual batch execution.

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The guide states, "The stored process can be executed as required by requesting applications." Deploying the job as a stored process provides that application-facing execution form.

   Reference: SAS Data Integration Studio 4.904: User’s Guide — Chapter 10, About Deploying Jobs as Stored Processes, p. 242

8. 8In a Data Integration Studio pushdown job, where is supported relational database transformation code processed?

   1. A. In the Java process running the Data Integration Studio client
   2. B. In the SAS Metadata Server storing the job definition
   3. C. In the relational database server holding the data
   4. D. In the SAS Workspace Server processing ordinary SAS code

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The guide states that pushdown specifies that "the relational database code in the job is processed in the relational database server." This places supported transformations with the data rather than running them in the metadata or client tier.

   Reference: SAS Data Integration Studio 4.904: User’s Guide — Chapter 7, Pushing ELT Job Code Down to a Database, p. 200

9. 9Which SAS Application Server component executes SAS code and reads and writes data for a typical Data Integration Studio job?

   1. A. SAS OLAP Server
   2. B. SAS/CONNECT Server
   3. C. Stored Process Server
   4. D. SAS Workspace Server

   Answer: D

   Explanation: Table 1.1 describes the SAS Workspace Server as follows: "Executes SAS code; reads and writes data." The other components have distinct roles, including cube queries, remote execution, and stored processes.

   Reference: SAS Data Integration Studio 4.904: User’s Guide — Chapter 1, Table 1.1 SAS Application Servers, p. 6

10. 10After selecting a default SAS Application Server on the SAS Server tab, what does Test Connection verify?

    1. A. That each registered table matches its current physical structure
    2. B. That scheduled jobs can launch through the selected scheduling server
    3. C. That the workspace servers specified in the server metadata are reachable
    4. D. That every metadata user has write permission on all target libraries

    Answer: C

    Explanation: The guide instructs, "Click Test Connection to test the connection to the SAS Workspace Server or servers that are specified in the metadata for the server." This checks the execution-server connection, rather than table schemas, scheduling, or every user permission.

    Reference: SAS Data Integration Studio 4.904: User’s Guide — Chapter 2, Selecting a Default SAS Application Server, p. 27