How SAS processes jobs is the responsibility of the SAS Supervisor and an understanding of its function is important. While the details of how it works have changed over time, some of the basics of the SAS Supervisor have been reasonably consistent over time.

This paper was first presented at SUGI (now known as SGF) in 1983 and was a standard talk at many conferences back in the Jurassic period of SAS. It discusses the functions of the SAS Supervisor during the execution of a SAS DATA Step program.

The functions of the SAS Supervisor can be categorized as follows:

• Compiling SAS Source Code, and
• Executing Resultant Machine Code

The actions of the Supervisor during both the compile and execution phases of a SAS job will be illustrated.

When a SAS DATA Step program is written, the DATA Step "module" must be integrated within the structure of the SAS System. This integration is done by the SAS Supervisor. Gaining a more complete understanding of what the Supervisor does and how our program is controlled by it is crucial to using the SAS System more effectively.