SAS DI Studio Tutorial: Build Your First ETL Job Step by Step
By Neha Jain, Principal Consultant and SAS trainer · 17+ years training in SAS · 5,000+ learners trained · Updated 7 November 2026
SAS Data Integration Studio (SAS DI Studio) is SAS's visual tool for building ETL jobs — the processes that extract data from sources, transform it and load it into data warehouses and marts. This tutorial walks through what DI Studio is, its main parts, and how to build and run your first job, step by step.
The short answer
In SAS DI Studio you register source tables in metadata, create a job, connect transformations such as Extract, SQL Join and Table Loader into a process flow, run it, check the log, and deploy it for scheduling. DI Studio generates the SAS code for you, so Base SAS and SQL knowledge makes you far more effective.
What is SAS DI Studio?
SAS DI Studio is a desktop client on the SAS 9 platform. Instead of writing every program by hand, you design jobs visually and DI Studio stores their definitions in the SAS metadata server, so tables, columns and jobs can be reused, documented and traced across a team. It is widely used to build the data marts behind SAS reporting — see SAS BI explained. On SAS Viya, similar visual flow-building is available in SAS Studio.
The main parts of DI Studio
Area | What it is for |
Folders tree | Organises metadata objects: libraries, tables and jobs |
Inventory tree | Lists metadata objects by type |
Transformations tree | Ready-made steps such as Extract, Sort, SQL Join, Append, Lookup, Table Loader and User Written Code |
Job editor | Canvas where you build the process flow and view the generated code and log |
Properties | Settings for each table, column mapping and transformation |
Step by step: build your first ETL job
Connect. Open DI Studio and log on with a connection profile to your SAS metadata server.
Define a library. Create a SAS library in metadata that points to where your source data lives.
Register source tables. Use the register tables wizard so DI Studio knows each table's columns and types.
Define the target table. Create the output table's metadata: name, library and columns.
Create a job. Add a new job and drag the source tables onto the job editor canvas.
Add transformations. Connect an Extract to choose columns and filter rows, an SQL Join to combine tables on keys, and a Table Loader to write the target.
Map columns. In each transformation, map source columns to target columns and add expressions where needed.
Run and check. Run the job, then read the status and the SAS log for errors and warnings.
Deploy. Deploy the job so it can be scheduled to run automatically, for example every night.
The SAS code behind a simple job
DI Studio generates SAS code from your flow. A simple Extract, Join and Load job does work similar to this:
proc sql;
create table work.orders_enriched as
select o.order_id, o.order_date, o.amount,
c.customer_name, c.region
from src.orders as o
inner join src.customers as c
on o.customer_id = c.customer_id
where o.order_date >= '01JAN2026'd;
quit;
data mart.orders_fact;
set work.orders_enriched;
run;Understanding this code is what lets you debug jobs, tune performance and write User Written Code transformations when the built-in ones aren't enough.
Best practices
Name jobs, tables and transformations consistently so others can follow them.
Filter early in Extract to move less data through the flow.
Check column lengths and formats when mapping to avoid truncation.
Read the log after every run, not just the status icon.
Keep user-written code small and documented.
SAS DI interview questions
What is the difference between registering a table and creating one?
When would you use the Table Loader versus Append?
How do you handle slowly changing dimensions in DI Studio?
Where do you see the code DI Studio generates, and why does it matter?
How do you deploy and schedule a job?
Frequently asked questions
Is SAS DI Studio still used? Yes, in many organisations that run the SAS 9 platform for data warehousing. SAS Viya offers visual flows in SAS Studio for newer work.
Do I need Base SAS to learn DI Studio? It is strongly recommended. DI Studio generates SAS code, and Base SAS and SQL help you debug and extend jobs.
What is the difference between SAS DI and SAS BI? SAS DI prepares and loads data; SAS BI reports on it. Many roles combine both.
How long does it take to learn SAS DI Studio? With Base SAS and SQL skills, most learners can build and deploy standard jobs after a few weeks of guided practice.
Learn SAS DI Studio with Eduvercity
Eduvercity's live online SAS DI and combined SAS BI & DI courses, taught by Neha Jain, include hands-on ETL projects. New to SAS? Start with the SAS programmer roadmap and SAS tools explained.
About the author
Neha Jain is a Principal Consultant and Trainer at Eduvercity and works independently as a freelance SAS consultant and trainer. She has trained professionals in SAS for more than 17 years and has more than 20 years of experience as a global consultant across programming, data and project leadership, and has trained more than 5,000 students and professionals, as well as teams at companies worldwide. She teaches Base and Advanced SAS, Clinical SAS (CDISC SDTM, ADaM and TLFs), clinical R and Python to learners in India, the UAE, the UK, the USA and Canada, and advises teams moving clinical programming work from SAS to R. The views in this article are her own. More about Neha and Eduvercity.
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