SAS 9.4 Language Reference, 6th Edition

run; 5

proc print data=investment; 6

format Capital dollar12.2; 7

run; 8

1

Begin the DATA step and create a SAS data set called Investment.

2

Calculate a value based on a $2,000 capital investment and 7% interest each year

from 1990 to 2009. Calculate variable values for one observation per iteration of the

DO loop.

3

Write each observation to data set Investment.

4

Write a note to the SAS log proving that the DATA step iterates only once.

5

Execute the DATA step.

6

To see your output, print the Investment data set with the PRINT procedure.

7

Use the FORMAT statement to write numeric values with dollar signs, commas, and

decimal points.

8

Execute the PRINT procedure.

Writing a Report with a DATA Step

Example 1: Creating a Report without Creating a Data Set

You can use a DATA step to generate a report without creating a data set by using

_NULL_ in the DATA statement. This approach saves system resources because SAS

does not create a data set. The report can contain both TITLE statements and

FOOTNOTE statements. If you use a FOOTNOTE statement, be sure to include

FOOTNOTE as an option in the FILE statement in the DATA step.

title1 'Budget Report'; 1

title2 'Mid-Year Totals by Department';

footnote 'compiled by Manager,

Documentation Development Department'; 2

data _null_; 3

set budget; 4

file print footnote; 5

MidYearTotal=Jan+Feb+Mar+Apr+May+Jun; 6

if _n_=1 then 7

do;

put @5 'Department' @30 'Mid-Year Total';

end;

put @7 Department @35 MidYearTotal; 8

run; 9

1

Define titles.

2

Define the footnote.

3

Begin the DATA step. _NULL_ specifies that no data set is created.

4

Read one observation per iteration from data set Budget.

Writing a Report with a DATA Step 429

5

Name the output file for the PUT statements and use the PRINT fileref. By default,

the PRINT fileref specifies that the file contains carriage-control characters and

titles. The FOOTNOTE option specifies that each page of output contains a footnote.

6

Calculate a value for the variable MidYearTotal on each iteration.

7

Write variable name headings for the report on the first iteration only.

8

Write the current values of variables Department and MidYearTotal for each

iteration.

9

Execute the DATA step.

The example above uses the FILE statement with the PRINT fileref to produce LISTING

output. If you want to print to a file, specify a fileref or a complete filename. Use the

PRINT option if you want the file to contain carriage-control characters and titles. The

following example shows how to use the FILE statement in this way.

file 'external-file' footnote print;

You can also use the data _null_; statement to write to an external file. For more

information about writing to external files, see the FILE statement in SAS DATA Step

Statements: Reference, and the SAS documentation for your operating environment.

Example 2: Creating a Customized Report

You can create very detailed, fully customized reports by using a DATA step with PUT

statements. The following example shows a customized report that contains three

distinct sections: a header, a table, and a footer. It contains existing SAS variable values,

constant text, and values that are calculated as the report is written.

430 Chapter 20 • DATA Step Processing