Combining Line Pointer Controls

The forward slash (/) line pointer control and the #n line pointer control can be used together in a SAS program to read multiple records both sequentially and non-sequentially.
For example, you could use both the / line pointer control and the #n line pointer control to read the variables in the raw data file Patdata in the following order:
1. ID
2. Fname
3. Lname
4. Address

5. City
6. State
7. Zip
8. Doctor

 data perm.patients; 
    infile patdata; 
    input #4 ID $5. 
          #1 Fname $ Lname $ /  
             Address $23. / 
             City $ State $ Zip $ / 
             @7 Doctor $6.; 
run;
Raw Data File with the First Four Records Highlighted
  • To read the values for ID in the fourth record, specify #4 before naming the variable and ...

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