SAS Visual Analytics third party visualizations

This project contains code samples that can be used as Data-Driven Content (DDC) within a SAS Visual Analytics (VA) report. For additional information, see Programming Considerations for Data-Driven Visualizations.

The JavaScript content for your third-party visualizations must be stored on a web server. One approach to hosting is to use Node.js. For more information about using Node.js for data-driven content, see Deploy a custom web application in the cloud for Data-Driven Content object in SAS Viya 4. Another possibility is to leverage SAS Content Server, as explained in Deploy DDC Implementation Files in SAS Content Server via SAS Viya GUIs.

Data-Driven Content (DDC) Server

In addition to accessing samples from the given folder, users may also like to refer to this new section - a DDC Server, which pre-packages these sample files in an easily accessible web application that can be deployed alongside SAS Viya! In addition, users will also be able to upload their own custom DDCs to their deployed instance of the DDC Server. Check this folder and README out in order to learn more.

util/messagingUtil.js

It contains the functions you need to send/receive messages to/from SAS Visual Analytics. You must include the following line in the <head> of the web page:

<script type="text/javascript" src="../util/messagingUtil.js"></script>

setOnDataReceivedCallback

Sets a callback function to handle messages received from VA.

Usage:

va.messagingUtil.setOnDataReceivedCallback(callback)

callback is the callback function name that you must define.

postSelectionMessage

Sends back to VA a message containing selections made in the third-party visualization. VA will use that information to either filter or select (brush) other report objects, depending on the Actions defined between the data-driven object and other VA report objects. It leverages function postMessage internally.

Usage:

va.messagingUtil.postSelectionMessage(resultName, selectedRows)

resultName is the name of the associated query result, which is obtained from the message received from VA (event.data.resultName).
selectedRows is an array of numbers (e.g. [0, 3, 4]) or objects (e.g. [{row: 0}, {row: 3}, {row: 4}]) that contains the indexes of the selected rows, as they appear in event.data.data.

postInstructionalMessage

Sends back to VA an instructional message. This message is displayed in the data-driven content object in the VA report and is useful for sending text messages back to report authors informing required roles, their assignment order, types, etc. It leverages function postMessage internally.

Usage:

va.messagingUtil.postInstructionalMessage(resultName, strMessage)

resultName is the name of the associated query result, which is obtained from the message received from VA (event.data.resultName).
strMessage is the text message to be sent.

postMessage

Sends back a message to VA.

Usage:

va.messagingUtil.postMessage(objMessage)

objMessage is an object that contains either the selection or the instructional message to be sent to VA. Functions postSelectionMessage and postInstructionalMessage are wrappers for this function.
Example of selection message:
{
      resultName: "dd46",
      selections: [0, 3, 4]
}
Example of instructional message:
{
      resultName: "dd34",
      message: "Please, assign proper roles"
}

getUrlParams

Extracts parameter values assigned directly in the Data-Driven Content URL.

Usage:

value = va.messagingUtil.getUrlParams(name)

name is the optional parameter name.
Possible return values: If name is an existing parameter, returns it’s value If nameis not an existing parameter, returns null If nameis not informed, returns and object with all parameters name-value pairs: {name1:value1, name2:value2, name3:value3, ...}

forceVAObjectsRefresh

Forces VA objects that have filter actions driven from the DDC object to refresh: filters 1st row then none of them. For this function to work you need additional settings in the VA report, such as filter actions, table mappings, etc. This will be discussed in a blog soon and a link to it will be added here.

Usage:

va.messagingUtil.forceVAObjectsRefresh(resultName, millisecondsBeforeRefresh)

resultName is the name of the associated query result, which is obtained from the message received from VA (event.data.resultName).
millisecondsBeforeRefresh is optional and indicates the time in milliseconds that it should wait between the two selection messages that this function sends to VA. You may need to tune this value according to your environment. You want to give enough time for the first selection message to be processed by VA, before the second message is sent, otherwise the filter action that the DDC has with other objects may not be triggered and the objects are not refreshed. This time is set to 2000 (2 seconds) by default and it should work for most of the cases.

util/contentUtil.js

It contains the functions you need to validate the data received from VA. You must include the following line in the <head> of the web page:

<script type="text/javascript" src="../util/contentUtil.js"></script>

setupResizeListener

Sets a callback function to handle window resizing events.

Usage:

va.contentUtil.setupResizeListeners(callback)

callback is the callback function name that you must define. That’s normally the function that re-draws the chart.

validateRoles

Checks if the data received from VA have all the columns (number, sequence, and type) required for the visualization.

Usage:

isValid = va.contentUtil.validateRoles(resultData, expectedTypes, optionalTypes)

resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).
expectedTypes is an array describing the types of the columns that are required. The order is important and indicates the sequence that columns are assigned in the Roles tab in VA. Example: [“string”, “number”, “number”]. Valid types are “string”, “number”, and “date”.
optionalTypes is an array describing the types of the columns that are optional. The order is important and indicates the sequence that columns are assigned in the Roles tab in VA, after the required columns. Example: [“string”, “number”, “number”]. Because they are optional, the number of optional columns and optional types provided don’t need to match. Type comparison will be made while there is still a column and a type to be compared, and the rest will be ignored. One or more optional columns of same type can be represented as a single type instead of an array, for example: “number” indicates that all optional columns, if existent, must be numeric columns. An empty array [] indicates their types can be anything. A value null indicates no optional columns are accepted. Valid types are “string”, “number”, and “date”.
Returns true or false.

initializeSelections

Uses the message received from VA to extract information about selections made in VA objects. After extracting selection information, the “brush” column is removed from the message.

Usage:

selections = va.contentUtil.initializeSelections(resultData)

resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).
Returns selections, an array of objects containing the indexes of the selected rows (e.g. [{row: 2}, {row: 5}])

convertDateColumns

Transforms the message received from VA so that date values (represented as strings) are converted to Date objects. This standardizes date representation and might be helpful to support further transformations and formatting on dates.

Usage:

va.contentUtil.convertDateColumns(resultData)

resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).

getVAParameters

Extracts parameter information from message received from VA.

Usage:

parameters = va.contentUtil.getVAParameters(resultData)

resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).
Returns parameters, an object containing each parameter name and value (e.g. {<param_label_1>:<param_value_1>, ... , <param_label_n>:<param_value_n>}). If a certain <param_label> contains multiple values, its <param_value> is an array.

thirdPartyHelpers/google.js

It contains helper functions you most likely need with Google Charts. You must include the following lines in the <head> of the web page:

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../thirdPartyHelpers/google.js"></script>

createDataTable

Uses the data and columns keys from the VA message to create a DataTable object. Google Charts take DataTable as input data for its charts, but in addition to that, DataTable offers a series of methods that can help with table manipulation. More information on DataTable can be found here.

Usage:

dataTable = va.googleHelper.createDataTable(resultData)

resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).
Returns dataTable, the input data as a DataTable object.

formatData

Uses the columns metadata within the message received from VA to update column formats in a DataTable object. Only numeric and date columns are affected. Supported formats are: DOLLAR, COMMA, F, BEST, and PERCENT for numeric, and MONYY, MMYY, MMDDYY, DATE, DDMMYY, WORDDATE, YYMMDD, and DATETIME for dates. Other column formats are kept unchanged.

Usage:

va.googleHelper.formatData(dataTable, resultData)

dataTable is the input data as a DataTable object.
resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).

formatAxis

Uses the columns metadata within the message received from VA to update/add a vAxis.format or a hAxis.format in the Google Charts options variable. Only numeric columns are affected. Supported VA formats are: DOLLAR, COMMA, F, BEST, and PERCENT. Other column formats are kept unchanged.

Usage:

va.googleHelper.formatAxis(axis, options, resultData)

axis is a string that indicates a vertical or horizontal axis. Valid axis values are 'vAxis' and 'hAxis'.
options is the JSON object that holds Google Charts options.
resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).

thirdPartyHelpers/d3.js

It contains helper functions you most likely need with D3 charts. You must include the following line in the <head> of the web page:

<script type="text/javascript" src="../thirdPartyHelpers/d3.js"></script>

configureFormatter

Uses the columns metadata within the message received from VA to configure D3 formats. Only numeric columns are affected. Supported VA formats are: DOLLAR, COMMA, F, BEST, and PERCENT. Other columns formats are kept unchanged.

Usage:

formatter = va.d3Helper.configureFormatter(resultData)

resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).
Returns formatter, an object containing key/value pairs where the key is the column label and the value is a d3.format function for each one of the supported numeric columns (e.g. {'Average Sales': d3.format('$6,.2f'), 'Percent Comparison': d3.format('4,.1%')} )

configureAxisFormatter

Uses the columns metadata within the message received from VA to configure D3 formats. This function is similar to va.d3Helper.configureFormatter, but the format returned doesn’t have any decimal places. Only numeric columns are affected. Supported VA formats are: DOLLAR, COMMA, F, BEST, and PERCENT. Other columns formats are kept unchanged.

Usage:

axisFormatter = va.d3Helper.configureAxisFormatter(resultData)

resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).
Returns axisFormatter, an object containing key/value pairs where the key is the column label and the value is a d3.format function for each one of the supported numeric columns (e.g. {'Average Sales': d3.format('$6,f'), 'Percent Comparison': d3.format('4,%')} )

thirdPartyHelpers/c3.js

It contains helper functions you most likely need with C3 charts. You must include the following line in the <head> of the web page:

<script type="text/javascript" src="../thirdPartyHelpers/c3.js"></script>

configureChartData

Uses the data and columns keys from the VA message to create the chart data JSON object, necessary to draw the C3 chart. If necessary, this function also sets the appropriate configuration to unload the existing chart prior to re-drawing it.

Usage:

chartData = va.c3Helper.configureChartData(resultData, chartType, previousConfig)

resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).
chartType is the chart type string as defined in C3 documentation.
previousConfig is the previous chartData JSON object that was assigned to the datakey in function c3.generate({... , data: , ...}) to draw the C3 chart. Information from previousConfig is compared with the information from resultData to determine if the existing chart must be unload due to changes in the new data received from VA. null indicates there is no previous configuration (chart was never drawn).
Returns chartData, a JSON object to be assigned to the data key when calling the function c3.generate({... , data: chartData, ...}) to draw the C3 chart. It has the following structure:
{
  type: <chartType parameter>,
  x: <label of category column>,
  rows:[
              <array of column labels>,
              <array of row1 values>,
              ... ,
              <array of rowN values>
            ]
  keys:{
              x: <label of category column>,
              value: <array of all numeric columns labels>
            }
}

util/casUtil.js and util/casUtil.v4.js

It contains the functions you need to create CAS sessions and execute CAS actions from SAS Visual Analytics. Those functions have been modified to also work in SAS Viya after 3.5.x (testing was performed on 2023.02 and 2023.03 release cadences), and should remain backwards compatible down to SAS Viya 3.4. Internal implementation and REST APIs used may differ depending on the SAS Viya version. Decisions are made based on the VA version detected. casUtil.v4.js is an implementation without inherited dependency on jQuery. It has been tested on stable release 2023.06 and Viya 3.5 and it should remain backwards compatible with all other SAS Viya releases. You should use this utility file going forward. Note: error handling for functions calls in .v4 implementation should use .catch() instead of .fail(). You must include the following line in the <head> of the web page:

<script type="text/javascript" src="../util/casUtil.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="../util/casUtil.v4.js"></script>

startCasSession

Leverages SAS Viya REST API to create a CAS session that you can use to execute CAS actions. It uses the following endpoints internally: VA 8.3 and above on SAS Viya 3.4: /casManagement/servers and /casProxy/servers/<serverName>/cas/sessions
VA 8.5 on SAS Viya 3.5, and Viya 4 (2023.02 and later): /casManagement/servers and /casManagement/servers/<serverName>/sessions

Usage:

va.casUtil.startCasSession().then(function(sessionInfo){...})

Alias: startSession
Uses getCasServerName and getAppVersion internally
Returns a promise for sessionInfo, an object containing CAS server name, CSRF token of the service used to create the session (casManagement or casProxy, depending on the VA version), session id, and session owner user id. For example:
{
      casServerName: 'cas-shared-default',
      csrfToken: 'f00cc954-040b-4407-b5ac-75a22df56ca3',
      sessionId: '233c1c87-2016-1a41-8e99-461233aa306f',
      userId: 'sasxyz'
}

Note: If you have more than one server, it returns the first one on the list.

casAction

Leverages SAS Viya REST API to execute CAS actions by using the following endpoint: /casProxy/servers/<serverName>/cas/sessions/<sessId>/actions/<action>

Usage:

va.casUtil.casAction(serverName, sessId, action, data).then(function(response){...})

serverName is the SAS Viya server name (e.g. ‘cas-shared-default’)
sessId is the CAS session ID (e.g. ‘233c1c87-2016-1a41-8e99-461233aa306f’)
action is the CAS action (e.g. ‘update’, ‘fetch’, etc.)
data is the CAS action dependent payload as an object or in stringified JSON format. E.g. for a fetch action:
{
      "table": {
            "name": "CARS",
            "caslib": "Public",
            "where": "Origin='Asia'"
      },
      "fetchVars": [
            {"name": "Invoice"}
      ]
}
Returns a promise for response, an object containing the data for the action called. See documentation for specific CAS action in developers.sas.com.

getCasServerName

Leverages SAS Viya REST API to obtain the CAS server name. It uses the following endpoint internally: /casManagement/servers

Usage:

va.casUtil.getCasServerName().then(function(serverInfo){...})

Returns a promise for serverInfo, an object containing CAS server name and CSRF token of the service used to create the session. For example:
{
casServerName: 'cas-shared-default',
csrfToken: 'f00cc954-040b-4407-b5ac-75a22df56ca3'
}

Note: If you have more than one server, it returns the first one on the list.

getCsrfToken

Leverages SAS Viya REST API to obtain the CSRF token for a specified service. It uses the following endpoint internally: /<service>/

Usage:

va.casUtil.getCsrfToken(service).then(function(token){...})

service is the name of the service you want to obtain the CSRF token for, e.g. ‘casProxy’.
Returns a promise for token, a string containing the CSRF token of the service, e.g. 'f00cc954-040b-4407-b5ac-75a22df56ca3'.

Note: Token values for each service are cached internally for future calls to this function.

getAppVersion

Leverages SAS Viya REST API to obtain the version for a specified application. It uses the following endpoint internally: /<app>/apiMeta

Usage:

va.casUtil.getAppVersion(app).then(function(version){...})

app is the name of the application you want to obtain the version for, e.g. 'SASVisualAnalytics'.
Returns a promise for version, a string containing the application version, e.g. '8.5'.
It only works for SAS Viya up to version 3.5.x.

util/jobUtil.js and util/jobUtil.v4.js

It contains utility functions to support easier integration between SAS Visual Analytics and SAS Jobs. jobUtil.v4.js is an implementation without inherited dependency on jQuery. It has been tested on stable release 2023.06 and Viya 3.5 and it should remain backwards compatible with all other SAS Viya releases. You should use this utility file going forward. You must include the following line in the <head> of the web page:

<script type="text/javascript" src="../util/jobUtil.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="../util/jobUtil.v4.js"></script>

PrepareVADataForSASJobs

Transforms the data received from VA and adds extra format information for SAS Jobs to use.

Usage:

va.jobUtil.PrepareVADataForSASJobs(resultData)

resultData is the message received from VA (event.data) that will be transformed.

Notes:

Modifications performed on resultData.data depend on the data type:
- String:
  - missing values come as “(missing)” and are modified to “”.
- Date:
  - values come as formatted strings according to their date formats. They are transformed to their corresponding SAS date numbers expressed as number of days since January 1st, 1960.
  - The following date formats are not supported (generate missing values):
    - Day of Year (JULDAY1). E.g.: 176
    - Week (WEEKV2). E.g.: 26
    - Week (WEEKV3). E.g.: W26
    - Year, Week (WEEKV5). E.g.: 15W26
    - Year, Week, Day (WEEKV7). E.g.: 15W2604
    - Year, Week, Day (WEEKV9). E.g.: 2015W2604
    - Year, Week, Day (WEEKV0). E.g.: 2015-W26-04
  - Some date string representations cannot accurately be mapped to one specific date. The formats below are treated by making up day, month, and year values as needed:
    - Day of Month (DAY9). E.g.: 25
    - Day of Week (DOWNAME11). E.g.: Thursday
    - Day of Week (DOWNAME1). E.g.: Thu
    - Day, Date (WEEKDATE9). E.g.: Thursday
    - Day, Date (WEEKDATE3). E.g.: Thu
    - MMMYYYY (MONYY7). E.g.: Jun2015
    - MMYYYY (MMYY8). E.g.: 06/2015
    - Month (MONTH7). E.g.: June
    - Month (MONTH3). E.g.: Jun
    - Month (MONTH2). E.g.: 6
    - Month, Day, Year (WORDDATE9). E.g.: June
    - Month, Day, Year (WORDDATE3). E.g.: Jun
    - Quarter (QTR4). E.g.: Q2
    - Quarter (QTR6). E.g.: 2nd quarter
    - Quarter, Year (YYQC5). E.g.: 2nd quarter 2015
    - Year (YEAR4). E.g.: 2015
    - YYYYMM (YYMM8). E.g.: 2015/06
- Datetime:
  - values come as formatted strings according to their datetime formats. They are transformed to their corresponding SAS datetime numbers expressed as number of seconds since January 1st, 1960.
  - Some datetime string representations cannot accurately be mapped to one specific datetime. The formats below are treated by making up day, month, and year values as needed:
    - Day, Date (DTWKDATX3). E.g.: Thu
    - Day, Date (DTWKDATX9). E.g.: Thursday
    - Quarter, Year (DTYYQC5). E.g.: 2nd quarter 2015
    - Time (TIMEAMPM5). E.g.: 03:42 PM
    - Time (TIMEAMPM8). E.g.: 03:42:12 PM
    - Time (TIMEAMPM2). E.g.: 15
    - Year (DTYEAR10). E.g.: 2015
Formats in VA for number/date/datetime are slightly different compared to SAS Jobs. Job-specific format information is added under resultData.columns and depends on the data type and VA format:
{
  ... ,
  columns: [
              {
                  ... ,
                  name4job: <format_name>,
                  type4job: <format_type>,
                  width4job: <format_width>,
                  precision4job: <format_precision>
              },
              ...
  ],
  ...
}

pingApp

Asynchrnous function that pings the app to keep it alive.

Usage:

va.jobUtil.pingApp(app)

app is the name of the application, e.g. 'SASJobExecution'.

keepAppAlive

Asynchrnous function that calls pingApp on 1 minute intervals to keep the application alive.

Usage:

va.jobUtil.keepAppAlive(app)

app is the name of the application, e.g. 'SASJobExecution'.

SAS Visual Analytics third party visualizations

SAS Visual Analytics third party visualizations

Data-Driven Content (DDC) Server

util/messagingUtil.js

setOnDataReceivedCallback

postSelectionMessage

postInstructionalMessage

postMessage

getUrlParams

forceVAObjectsRefresh

util/contentUtil.js

setupResizeListener

validateRoles

initializeSelections

convertDateColumns

getVAParameters

thirdPartyHelpers/google.js

createDataTable

formatData

formatAxis

`resultData` is the message received from VA (event.data).

thirdPartyHelpers/d3.js

configureFormatter

configureAxisFormatter

Returns `axisFormatter`, an object containing key/value pairs where the key is the column label and the value is a d3.format function for each one of the supported numeric columns (e.g. `{'Average Sales': d3.format('$6,f'), 'Percent Comparison': d3.format('4,%')}` )

thirdPartyHelpers/c3.js

configureChartData

util/casUtil.js and util/casUtil.v4.js

startCasSession

casAction

getCasServerName

getCsrfToken

getAppVersion

util/jobUtil.js and util/jobUtil.v4.js

PrepareVADataForSASJobs

pingApp

keepAppAlive

SAS Visual Analytics third party visualizations

Data-Driven Content (DDC) Server

util/messagingUtil.js

setOnDataReceivedCallback

postSelectionMessage

postInstructionalMessage

postMessage

getUrlParams

forceVAObjectsRefresh

util/contentUtil.js

setupResizeListener

validateRoles

initializeSelections

convertDateColumns

getVAParameters

thirdPartyHelpers/google.js

createDataTable

formatData

formatAxis

resultData is the message received from VA (event.data).

thirdPartyHelpers/d3.js

configureFormatter

configureAxisFormatter

Returns axisFormatter, an object containing key/value pairs where the key is the column label and the value is a d3.format function for each one of the supported numeric columns (e.g. {'Average Sales': d3.format('$6,f'), 'Percent Comparison': d3.format('4,%')} )

thirdPartyHelpers/c3.js

configureChartData

util/casUtil.js and util/casUtil.v4.js

startCasSession

casAction

getCasServerName

getCsrfToken

getAppVersion

util/jobUtil.js and util/jobUtil.v4.js

PrepareVADataForSASJobs

pingApp

keepAppAlive

`resultData` is the message received from VA (event.data).

Returns `axisFormatter`, an object containing key/value pairs where the key is the column label and the value is a d3.format function for each one of the supported numeric columns (e.g. `{'Average Sales': d3.format('$6,f'), 'Percent Comparison': d3.format('4,%')}` )