SAS 9.4 Language Reference, 6th Edition

Using external files with your SAS jobs requires that you specify filenames with

syntax that is appropriate to your operating environment. See the SAS

documentation for your operating environment for more information.

Types of Data

Definitions

data values

are character or numeric values.

numeric value

contains only numbers, and sometimes a decimal point, a minus sign, or both. When

they are read into a SAS data set, numeric values are stored in the floating-point

format native to the operating environment. Nonstandard numeric values can contain

other characters as numbers; you can use formatted input to enable SAS to read

them.

character value

is a sequence of characters.

standard data

are character or numeric values that can be read with list, column, formatted, or

named input. Examples of standard data include:

• ARKANSAS

• 1166.42

nonstandard data

is data that can be read only with the aid of informats. Examples of nonstandard data

include numeric values that contain commas, dollar signs, or blanks; date and time

values; and hexadecimal and binary values.

Numeric Data

Numeric data can be represented in several ways. SAS can read standard numeric values

without any special instructions. To read nonstandard values, SAS requires special

instructions in the form of informats. Table 21.2 on page 442 shows standard,

nonstandard, and invalid numeric data values and the special tools, if any, that are

required to read them. For complete descriptions of all SAS informats, see SAS Formats

and Informats: Reference.

Table 21.1 Reading Standard Numeric Data

Data Description Solution

23

input right aligned None needed

23

input not aligned None needed

23

input left aligned None needed

Types of Data 441

Data Description Solution

00023

input with leading zeros None needed

23.0

input with decimal point None needed

2.3E1

in E notation, 2.30 (ss1) None needed

230E-1

in E notation, 230x10 (ss-1) None needed

-23

minus sign for negative

numbers

None needed

Table 21.2 Reading Nonstandard Numeric Data

Data Description Solution

2 3

embedded blank COMMA. or BZ.

informat

- 23

embedded blank COMMA. or BZ.

informat

2,341

comma COMMA. informat

(23)

parentheses COMMA. informat

C4A2

hexadecimal value HEX. informat

1MAR90

date value DATE. informat

Table 21.3 Reading Invalid Numeric Data

Data Description Solution

23 -

minus sign follows number Put minus sign before number

or solve programmatically. It

might be possible to use the

S370FZDTw.d informat, but

positive values require the

trailing plus sign (+).[

..

double instead of single

periods

Code missing values as a

single period or use the ??

modifier in the INPUT

statement to code any invalid

input value as a missing

value.

J23

not a number Read as a character value, or

edit the raw data to change it

to a valid number.

442 Chapter 21 • Reading Raw Data