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100+ Free SAS Viya Programming Practice Questions

Pass your SAS Certified Specialist: Viya Programming (A00-420) exam on the first try — instant access, no signup required.

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Which CAS action returns information about files inside a caslib's data source?

A
B
C
D
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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: SAS Viya Programming Exam

65-70

Exam Questions

SAS exam content guide A00-420

110 min

Exam Duration

SAS exam content guide A00-420

71%

Passing Score

SAS exam content guide A00-420

$180

Exam Fee

SAS global exam pricing

A00-420

Exam Code

SAS certification registry

5 yrs

Certification Validity

SAS certification policy

The A00-420 exam is 65-70 questions in 110 minutes at $180 USD with a 71% passing score. Nine domain areas weight CAS language basics (15-20%) and Prepare data with CAS actions (20-25%) most heavily. Programmers learn caslibs, CAS sessions, CAS actions, CAS-enabled procedures (PROC FREQ, LOGSELECT, TREESPLIT), DS2, FedSQL, and SWAT for Python/R access to CAS. Certification expires after five years.

Sample SAS Viya Programming Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your SAS Viya Programming exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1What is CAS in SAS Viya?
A.Cloud Authentication Server, used to log in to Viya
B.Cloud Analytic Services, the in-memory distributed analytics engine of SAS Viya
C.Compute Application Services, a replacement for the SAS Workspace Server
D.Common Action Set, a default library of SAS macros
Explanation: CAS (Cloud Analytic Services) is the in-memory, distributed analytics runtime of SAS Viya. It loads tables into memory across worker nodes and runs analytic actions in parallel.
2Which SAS Viya component runs traditional SAS DATA step and procedure code that does not target CAS?
A.SAS Compute Server
B.CAS Controller
C.Micro Analytic Service (MAS)
D.SAS Event Stream Processing (ESP)
Explanation: The SAS Compute Server runs single-machine SAS programs, including DATA steps and procedures that do not execute in CAS. CAS handles distributed in-memory analytics; MAS and ESP serve different purposes.
3Which statement starts a CAS session and assigns a session reference named mySession?
A.CAS mySession;
B.LIBNAME mySession CAS;
C.PROC CAS mySession;
D.OPTIONS CASSESSION=mySession;
Explanation: The CAS statement starts a CAS session. Syntax: CAS sessref <session-options>; The session reference (sessref) identifies the session in subsequent statements.
4What is a caslib?
A.A subdirectory inside the SAS Compute Server work area
B.A reference to a collection of files and in-memory tables that a CAS session can access
C.A SAS macro library specific to CAS code
D.A folder in SAS Studio used to store programs
Explanation: A caslib is a CAS library: a named collection of in-memory tables and the data source files associated with them. Caslibs control which data a CAS session can access and load.
5Which caslib is automatically created for each user and is private to that user?
A.Public
B.CASUSER
C.Formats
D.AppData
Explanation: CASUSER is the personal caslib automatically created for each authenticated user. Its tables are private to that user. Public is shared and Formats stores user-defined formats.
6Which LIBNAME statement assigns a SAS libref to the Public caslib in the current CAS session named mySess?
A.LIBNAME mycas CAS sessref=mySess caslib=public;
B.LIBNAME mycas "public" CASLIB;
C.LIBNAME mycas CASLIB=public;
D.CASLIB mycas FROM mySess.public;
Explanation: Use LIBNAME libref CAS sessref=session caslib=caslib; to bind a SAS libref to a caslib in a specific CAS session. This lets DATA step code reference CAS tables as libref.tablename.
7Which procedure is the recommended way to load, save, and manage CAS tables outside of PROC CAS?
A.PROC CASUTIL
B.PROC IMPORT
C.PROC DATASETS
D.PROC SQL
Explanation: PROC CASUTIL provides table management for CAS, including LOAD, SAVE, DROPTABLE, LIST, and PROMOTE. It is purpose-built for moving data into and out of CAS in-memory storage.
8What does it mean to PROMOTE a CAS table?
A.Make it visible across all CAS sessions in the same caslib with global scope
B.Save the table back to disk as a SASHDAT file
C.Convert a CAS table to a SAS data set
D.Encrypt the table for secure storage
Explanation: Promoting a CAS table changes its scope from session (visible only to the current session) to global (visible to all sessions with caslib access). This persists the table in memory across sessions.
9Which PROC CASUTIL statement loads a server-side file PRDSALE.sashdat into the Public caslib?
A.load casdata="prdsale.sashdat" incaslib="public" outcaslib="public" casout="prdsale";
B.import casdata="prdsale.sashdat" lib="public";
C.read file="prdsale.sashdat" caslib="public";
D.fetch table="prdsale" from="public";
Explanation: PROC CASUTIL uses the LOAD statement with CASDATA=, INCASLIB= (source caslib), OUTCASLIB= (destination caslib), and CASOUT= (resulting in-memory table name).
10Which file format is the native, distributed CAS storage format that supports parallel loads?
A.SAS7BDAT
B.SASHDAT
C.CSV
D.ORC
Explanation: SASHDAT is the SAS Hadoop / native CAS format optimized for parallel, distributed loading directly into CAS memory. SAS7BDAT is the traditional single-machine SAS dataset format.

About the SAS Viya Programming Exam

The SAS Certified Specialist: Viya Programming (A00-420) exam validates intermediate-level skills programming on SAS Viya. It covers Cloud Analytic Services (CAS) sessions and caslibs, CAS actions through PROC CAS and the SWAT Python/R clients, CAS-enabled procedures for distributed analytics, DATA step and SQL programming inside CAS, DS2, FedSQL, and the SAS Viya 4 architecture for Compute Server, MAS, and authentication.

Assessment

65-70 multiple-choice and short-answer questions

Time Limit

110 minutes

Passing Score

71%

Exam Fee

$180 USD (SAS / Pearson VUE)

SAS Viya Programming Exam Content Outline

20-25%

Prepare data with CAS actions

Use CAS actions to filter, transform, partition, impute, and shape CAS tables for downstream analysis.

15-20%

CAS language basics

CASL syntax inside PROC CAS, invoking action sets, capturing results, and loading specialized action sets.

10-15%

Managing data with CAS-enabled procedures

Use PROC FREQ, PROC LOGSELECT, PROC TREESPLIT, PROC FOREST, and PROC PARTITION on CAS tables.

10-15%

DATA step and SQL programming in CAS

Run DATA step in CAS, compare PROC SQL on CAS via libref vs PROC FEDSQL distributed execution.

5-10%

Analyze and summarize data with CAS actions

simple.summary, simple.freq, simple.distinct, simple.crossTab and modeling action sets.

5-10%

Explore and validate data with CAS actions

table.columnInfo, table.fileInfo, table.caslibInfo, and simple.numRows for inspection.

5-10%

Access data with CAS actions

Load files with table.loadTable and PROC CASUTIL; persist tables with table.save and PROMOTE.

5-10%

CAS-enabled procedures and user-defined formats

PROC FORMAT catalogs through Formats caslib and recognizing pushdown to CAS.

5-10%

Programming in SAS Viya concepts

Viya 4 architecture: SAS Compute Server, CAS controller and workers, MAS, ESP, SAS Logon Manager OAuth2.

How to Pass the SAS Viya Programming Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: 71%
  • Assessment: 65-70 multiple-choice and short-answer questions
  • Time limit: 110 minutes
  • Exam fee: $180 USD

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

SAS Viya Programming Study Tips from Top Performers

1Spend the most time on Prepare data with CAS actions (20-25%) and CAS language basics (15-20%) since they have the heaviest blueprint weight.
2Practice PROC CAS code by hand: actionSet.action / param=value; with result= variables and embedded DATA step via dataStep.runCode.
3Master the caslib model: scope (session vs global), PROMOTE, default caslibs (CASUSER, Public, Formats), and PROC CASUTIL LIST CASLIBS.
4Know which procedures are CAS-enabled (FREQ, LOGSELECT, TREESPLIT, FOREST, PARTITION, KCLUS, VARIMPUTE) versus legacy Compute-Server only (LOGISTIC, GLM).
5Compare PROC SQL on CAS via libref (runs on Compute Server) with PROC FEDSQL (ANSI, distributed) including null-handling differences.
6Build at least one Python SWAT script that connects to CAS, loads a table, runs simple.summary, and fetches results so the SWAT pattern feels operational.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the SAS Viya Programming exam?

The A00-420 exam has 65 to 70 multiple-choice and short-answer questions to be completed in 110 minutes.

What is the passing score?

You need 71% to pass the SAS Certified Specialist: Viya Programming exam.

How much does the exam cost?

The exam fee is $180 USD worldwide through Pearson VUE.

Does the certification expire?

Yes, the SAS Viya Programming Specialist certification expires after five years.

What languages and tools are tested?

PROC CAS with CASL, DATA step in CAS, PROC FEDSQL, DS2, CAS-enabled procedures, and the SWAT package for Python and R.

What is the difference between A00-415 and A00-420?

A00-415 is the SAS Viya Programming Associate (entry-level Viya programming). A00-420 is the SAS Viya Programming Specialist exam covered here, which is more intermediate and broader.