[Isaac Hands]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, it has prompted a lot of good discussion within the workgroup.

In the short term, you can convert a NAACCR XML file into a fixed-width file using the software here:
https://github.com/imsweb/naaccr-xml
or here:
https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/tools/registryplus/xml-exchange-plus.htm

But, that short term solution will not help after the 2020 XML transition when the fixed-width format is no longer maintained, so it will be important to have a longer term plan.
Any SAS developer can use the SAS XML Mapper to develop their own custom NAACCR XML parsing logic: https://support.sas.com/rnd/base/xmlengine/index.html
However, as a NAACCR Workgroup, we would like to provide a great solution for all NAACCR SAS users instead of asking everyone to develop their own. Currently, we do not have any SAS users in the NAACCR XML Workgroup, so if you know any that would like to participate, please tell them to get in touch with me ([email protected]).
Until we get some SAS expertise in our workgroup, we were wondering if one of the following options would work:

1. I know that R and SAS are very similar, and since SAS is very expensive and therefore more difficult to develop for when you do not already have a license, if the NAACCR XML Workgroup provided a solution for processing NAACCR XML in R, would that help with a SAS solution?

2. Given that SAS can connect to relational database servers easily, if the NAACCR XML Workgroup provided a standardized way to import NAACCR XML files into one or more databases, would that be a good solution for SAS?

We recognize that SAS is a critical software tool for many NAACCR community members and want to provide an easy transition to XML as much as possible. We welcome additional feedback and discussion on this issue.

[Isaac Hands]

Great questions Fabian, thanks for asking.

– Yes, our current plan is for the XML standard to be backward and forward compatible with the fixed-width format until the 2020 Volume II changes. However, from now until then is a transitional period where the NAACCR community should be updating software and processes to use XML so that the retirement of the fixed-width format in 2020 will not cause any problems.

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