SAS 9.4 Language Reference, 6th Edition

Table 39.2 Referencing External Files Indirectly

External File

Task Tool Example

Assign a fileref

to a file that

contains input

data.

FILENAME

filename mydata 'input-file';

Assign a fileref

to a file for

output data.

FILENAME

filename myreport 'output-file';

Assign a fileref

to a file that

contains program

statements.

FILENAME

filename mypgm 'source-file';

Assign a fileref

to an output

device.

FILENAME

filename myprinter <device-type>

<host-options>;

Specify the file

that contains

input data.

INFILE

data weight;

infile mydata;

input idno $ week1 week16;

loss=week1-week16;

Specify the file

that the PUT

statement writes

to.

FILE

file myreport;

if loss ge 5 and loss le 9 then

put idno loss 'AWARD STATUS=3';

else if loss ge 10 and loss le 14 then

put idno loss 'AWARD STATUS=2';

else if loss ge 15 then

put idno loss 'AWARD STATUS=1';

run;

Bring statements

or raw data from

another file into

your SAS job

and execute

them.

%INCLUDE

%include mypgm;

Referencing Many External Files Efficiently

When you use many files from a single aggregate storage location, such as a directory or

partitioned data set (PDS or MACLIB), you can use a single fileref, followed by a

filename enclosed in parentheses, to access the individual files. This saves time by

eliminating the need to enter a long file storage location name repeatedly. It also makes

changing the program easier later if you change the file storage location. The following

table shows an example of assigning a fileref to an aggregate storage location:

Referencing Many External Files Efficiently 763