ACCESS Procedure Reference

RENAME Statement

Modifies the SAS variable name.

	Optional statement
Applies to:	access descriptor or view descriptor
Interacts with:	ASSIGN, RESET

Syntax
Details

Syntax

RENAME column-identifier-1 <=> SAS-variable-name
<...column-identifier-n <=> SAS-variable-name>;

Details

The RENAME statement enters or modifies the SAS variable name that is associated with a DBMS column. The RENAME statement can be used when creating an access descriptor or a view descriptor.

An editing statement, such as RENAME, must follow the CREATE statement and the database-description statements when you create a descriptor. See CREATE Statement for more information about the order of statements.

Two factors affect the use of the RENAME statement: whether you specify the ASSIGN statement when you are creating an access descriptor, and the kind of descriptor you are creating.

If you omit the ASSIGN statement or specify it with a NO value, the renamed SAS variable names that you specify in the access descriptor are retained throughout the access descriptor and any view descriptor that is based on that access descriptor. For example, if you rename the CUSTOMER column to CUSTNUM when you create an access descriptor, that column continues to be named CUSTNUM when you select it in a view descriptor unless a RESET statement or another RENAME statement is specified.

When creating a view descriptor that is based on this access descriptor, you can specify the RESET statement or another RENAME statement to rename the variable again, but the new name applies only in that view. When you create other view descriptors, the SAS variable names are derived from the access descriptor.
If you specify the YES value in the ASSIGN statement, you can use the RENAME statement to change SAS variable names only while creating a specific access descriptor. As described earlier in the ASSIGN statement, SAS variable names that are saved in an access descriptor are always used when creating view descriptors that are based on it.

Renamed SAS variable names only apply to the current access descriptor that is being created. The default SAS variable names will be used for any subsequent access descriptors that are created in the same ACCESS procedure execution.

The column-identifier argument can be either the DBMS column name or the positional equivalent from the LIST statement, which is the number that represents the column's place in the descriptor. For example, to rename the SAS variable names that are associated with the seventh column and the nine-character FIRSTNAME column in a descriptor, submit the following statement:

rename 7 birthday  firstname=fname;

The DBMS column name (or positional equivalent) is specified on the left side of the expression, with the SAS variable name on the right side. The equal sign (=) is optional. If the column name contains special characters or national characters, enclose the name in quotation marks. You can rename as many columns as you want in one RENAME statement.

When you are creating a view descriptor, the RENAME statement automatically selects the renamed column for the view. That is, if you rename the SAS variable associated with a DBMS column, you do not have to issue a SELECT statement for that column.

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