SAS 9.4 Language Reference, 6th Edition

run;

The following output is produced:

Output 5.1 Output with Multiple Missing Values

Order of Missing Values

Numeric Variables

Within SAS, a missing value for a numeric variable is smaller than all numbers. If you

sort your data set by a numeric variable, observations with missing values for that

variable appear first in the sorted data set. For numeric variables, you can compare

special missing values with numbers and with each other. The following table shows the

sorting order of numeric values.

Table 5.1 Numeric Value Sort Order

Sort Order Symbol Description

smallest ._ underscore

. period

.A-.Z special missing values A (smallest)

through Z (largest)

-n negative numbers

0 zero

largest +n positive numbers

Order of Missing Values 85