The ASSIGN= statement generates
SAS variable names based on the first 8, non-blank characters of the item names and SAS
variable attributes based on the item data types. You can change names and formats only in
the
access descriptor. The names saved in the access descriptor are the ones that will be used in the
view descriptors.
The ASSIGN= statement causes view descriptors to inherit the SAS variable names and
formats of the parent access descriptor at the time that the access descriptor is
created. That is, if ASSIGN=YES (or Y),
the variable names generated for the access descriptor are used in all derived view
descriptors,
regardless of the statements used in the
view descriptor. If ASSIGN=NO (or N), you must specify the SAS variable names and formats when you
create a view descriptor from this access descriptor. Use the RENAME, FORMAT, INFORMAT,
LENGTH, BYKEY, and UNIQUE statements to change the variable names and attributes when
creating a descriptor. The default is NO.
When a new CREATE statement
is entered, the ASSIGN= statement is reset to NO.