Data Set Options for Relational Databases

NULLCHAR= Data Set Option

Indicates how missing SAS character values are handled during insert, update, DBINDEX=, and DBKEY= processing.

Default value:	SAS
Valid in:	DATA and PROC steps (when accessing DBMS data using SAS/ACCESS software)
DBMS support:	Aster nCluster, DB2 under UNIX and PC Hosts, DB2 under z/OS, Greenplum, HP Neoview, Informix, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Netezza, ODBC, OLE DB, Oracle, Sybase, Sybase IQ, Teradata

Syntax

NULLCHAR=SAS | YES | NO

SAS: indicates that missing character values in SAS data sets are treated as NULL values if the DBMS allows NULLs. Otherwise, they are treated as the NULLCHARVAL= value.
YES: indicates that missing character values in SAS data sets are treated as NULL values if the DBMS allows NULLs. Otherwise, an error is returned.
NO: indicates that missing character values in SAS data sets are treated as the NULLCHARVAL= value (regardless of whether the DBMS allows NULLs for the column).

This option affects insert and update processing and also applies when you use the DBINDEX= and DBKEY= data set options.

This option works with the NULLCHARVAL= data set option, which determines what is inserted when NULL values are not allowed.

All missing SAS numeric values (represented in SAS as '.') are treated by the DBMS as NULLs.

Oracle: For interactions between NULLCHAR= and BULKLOAD=ZX`11, see the bulk-load topic in the Oracle section.