BYKEY Statement (Optional)

Designates one or more items as sort keys.

Applies to: access descriptors and view descriptors

Syntax

BYKEY variable-identifier = YES | NO <…variable-identifier-n= YES | NO> ;

Details

The BYKEY statement designates one or more items as BY keys and, in a view descriptor, also selects them for the view.
The BYKEY statement cannot be used to change the BYKEY value in a view descriptor if ASSIGN= YES is specified in the access descriptor from which the view descriptor is derived.
variable-identifier can be one of the following:
  • the current SAS name for the data item
    Note: Any name on the left side of the equal sign (=) must be a SAS name, not a SYSTEM 2000 name. In an access descriptor, if the ASSIGN statement is omitted, you must enter the item number or component number (C-number) on the left side of the equal sign (=).
  • a positional equivalent, which is the number that represents the item, as specified in the LIST statement
  • the SYSTEM 2000 C-number of the database item
For example, if you want to make the third item a BY key, submit the following statement:
bykey 3=y;