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Transport Format

Using a supported method, you create a transport file that is represented internally in a common language format, which is known as transport format. A transport file contains a header, which describes the content of the file, and the contents of the member type, which is represented in binary format.

Two distinctive types of transport formats result from the particular method that creates the transport file:

• XPORT engine

• CPORT and CIMPORT procedures.

Because these methods produce transport files whose formats are different, you cannot mix methods to create and then to import the transport file. The methods that you use must be identical or be a compatible pair. For example, you can create and import a transport file using the XPORT engine and PROC COPY or the DATA step at both the source and target hosts. Likewise, you can create a transport file using PROC CPORT at the source host and you can import the transport file using PROC CIMPORT at the target host. However, you cannot, for example, create a transport file using the XPORT engine and PROC COPY at the source host and then try to use PROC CIMPORT to import the transport file at the target host.

Determining Which Method Was Used to Create the Transport File

How you determine the traditional method (XPORT engine with PROC COPY or PROC CIMPORT and PROC CIMPORT) that was used to create a transport file depends on your host.

• Hosts that store character data in ASCII format

  Use a text editor or an operating system read or view command to read the file.

  The XPORT engine creates a file whose first 40 characters contain this ASCII text:

  
  HEADER RECORD*******LIBRARY HEADER RECORD!!!!!!!00

  PROC CPORT creates a file whose first 40 characters contain this ASCII text:

  
  **COMPRESSED** **COMPRESSED** **COMPRESSED** **COM

  Note:    If you set the NOCOMPRESS option to PROC CPORT, compression is suppressed, which prevents the display of the preceding text in a transport file.  

  For technical details about the transport format that is used for a data set, see Technical Support article TS-140, The Record Layout of a SAS Transport Data Set.

• Hosts that store character data in EBCDIC format

  Transport files that are created on hosts that represent character data in EBCDIC (OS/390 and CMS) are not readable. For details about how to interpret ASCII data on EBCDIC hosts, see Interpreting EBCDIC as ASCII Data.

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