Free-Format Data
So
far, we have worked with raw data that is in fixed fields. In doing
so, we used column input to read standard data values in fixed
fields. We have also used formatted input to read both standard and
nonstandard data in fixed fields.
Suppose you have raw data that
is free-format. That is, it is not arranged in fixed fields. The
fields are often separated by blanks or by some other delimiter, as
shown below. In this case, column input and formatted input that
you might have used before to read standard and nonstandard data in
fixed fields will not enable you to read all of the values in the
raw data file.
Raw Data in Free-Format That Is Separated by
Blanks
Get SAS Certification Prep Guide: Base Programming for SAS 9, Third Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
