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Carolina FAQ

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Supported Features

Licensing

Other

Q. Which elements of Base SAS® does Carolina convert?

We have an exhaustive list of supported elements in the Supported Features document. Please download it and review it. In sum, we are currently targeting large enterprise model scoring applications, and some routinized ETL functions, where Carolina's virtues of platform independence, J2EE integration capability, ease of maintenance, and runtime speed (compiled Java runs much faster than interpreted Base SAS), not to mention our straightforward licensing practices, offer production IT the biggest bang for the buck.

Q. How can I determine if you support my existing Base SAS programs?

The best way is to examine your programs for compliance with our Supported Features document. Then you may alter them, if need be, or request that we add functionality to support them. (We are always adding features according to market requirements.) You can also download a free evaluation copy of Carolina and try it out yourself. We hope users will contribute links to public domain programs that Carolina supports by posting them on our forum.

Q. How fast is Carolina?

The Java programs produced by Carolina run significantly faster than the interpreter-based native SAS environments they replace. Carolina particularly excels in computationally-intensive DATA step programs. This is intuitive if not inevitable, given that Java compiles and SAS (like WPS) does not.

Q. Can Carolina read binary SAS datasets? Do you support the XPORT format?

Currently, Carolina cannot read SAS binary datasets or compressed XPORT format files. Carolina can read regular (i.e., non-compressed) XPORT files and ASCII text files (also known as raw data).

Q. Does Carolina convert anything other than Base SAS (e.g., SAS/STAT®, SAS/CONNECT®, etc.)?

Carolina is specific to Base SAS. Other SAS products are not supported by Carolina. That said, through our support for PROC SQL, we can convert many SAS/ACCESS® applications.

Q. What do I pay to evaluate Carolina?

Nothing. Evaluation licenses of Carolina binaries for Windows and Linux are free and have no time constraint. But you should check back frequently for updates to Carolina. If you're satisfied, we're confident you'll be back to license a production version.

Q. What are the restrictions on the free evaluation license?

Evaluation licenses are for non-production use only, and the code may not be moved into any production context. Read the license agreement carefully for the complete details.

Q. What do production-use licenses cost?

Pricing is tiered. Enterprise pricing is quoted directly following a traditional enterprise software sales model.

In summary, we charge $499 for a single CPU license. Enterprise licenses take effect for production scoring or other applications that involve large corporate data structures. These enterprise licenses will be discussed on a case-by-case basis. We expect them to be priced in the range of 30% of what we estimate the equivalent enterprise Base SAS licenses to be. We are structuring our pricing and business to reflect the needs of production IT managers who are under never-ending pressure to reduce their software infrastructure costs.

Q. Are these prices for perpetual licenses?

No. They are annual subscription licenses, with perpetual use rights. They are renewable, at your option, each year. By renewing you gain access to support, upgrades, bug fixes and the like. However, you need not renew your subscription to continue using Carolina.

Q. What do the license fees get me?

You get Carolina in binary format and as source code (an option for enterprise licenses only); 24-hour response time on service and support requests (via email). On-site consulting will be quoted on a case-by-case basis, and won't be cheap, but will be effective. Documentation will be available for download without restriction.

Q. You are licensing source code?

Yes, we are licensing source code as an option under our enterprise agreements only.

Q. Is this an "open source" initiative?

We are not part of the open source movement per se, because we regard Carolina as an asset that will best grow and support its users if it is funded through licenses. Think of us as a hybrid-licensing model company, one bringing the best of traditional enterprise software licensing business practices, without the headaches of vendor lock-in, inflated prices, and an expensive sales force.

Q. Your application needs the Carolina Runtime Library to execute the converted Java code. Can I redistribute the runtime library with my converted code?

No. Currently, we do not provide a "redistributable" runtime library. We expect to add that in the future, subject to demand for it.

Q. How can Carolina work without interacting with the proprietary Base SAS program?

Carolina only touches the text file—a user-controlled, user-originated, user-owned text file. It does not touch Base SAS or the Base SAS binary output. It touches a plain text file that subscribes to the grammar and syntax of Base SAS.

Q. What are your plans for other conversion utilities?

Right now we plan to focus on Carolina as it is presently configured. Obviously, if there is a market, we will develop additional output languages. (We are aware of people re-implementing SAS code manually in other languages, which tends to be terribly expensive and prone to error.) But for now, we want to make Carolina's Java conversion as near to perfect as it can be.