The TYPE statement changes the default DBMS column data types that are associated with the corresponding SAS variables.

The variable-identifier argument can be either the SAS variable name or the positional equivalent from the LIST statement. The positional equivalent is the number that represents the variable's place in the data set. For example, if you want to change the data type of the DBMS column associated with the third SAS variable, submit this statement:

type 3='char(17)';

The argument column-type must be a valid data type for the DBMS and must be enclosed in quotation marks.

If you omit the TYPE statement, the column data types are generated with default DBMS data types that are based on the SAS variable formats. You can change as many data types as you want in one TYPE statement. See the DBMS-specific reference in this document for a complete list of default conversion data types for the DBLOAD procedure for your DBMS.