The
column-identifier argument can be either the CA-Datacom/DB
field name or the positional equivalent from the LIST statement, which is the number that
represents the column's place in the
access descriptor. For example, to associate the DATE9. format with the BIRTHDATE column and with
the second column in the access descriptor, submit the following statement:
format 2=date9. birthdate=date9.;
The column-identifier is specified on the left and the SAS format is specified on
the right
of the expression. The equal sign (=) is optional. If the CA-Datacom/DB contains
special characters or national characters, enclose the name in quotation marks. You
can enter formats for as many columns as you want in one FORMAT statement.
You can use the FORMAT statement with a
view descriptor only if the ASSIGN statement that was used when creating the access descriptor was
specified with the
NO value.
Note: You do not have to issue
a SELECT statement in a view descriptor for the columns included in
the FORMAT statement. The FORMAT statement selects the columns. When
you use the FORMAT statement in access descriptors, the FORMAT statement
reselects columns that were previously dropped with the DROP statement.
FMT is the alias for
the FORMAT statement.