System Options under OpenVMS

SORTWORK= System Option: OpenVMS

Defines locations for host sort work files.

Default:	none
Valid in:	configuration file, SAS invocation, OPTIONS statement, SAS System Options window, VMS_SAS_OPTIONS DCL symbol
Category:	Sort: Procedure options
PROC OPTIONS GROUP=	SASFILES
OpenVMS specifics:	number of work files specified

Syntax
Details
See Also

Syntax

SORTWORK=<libref>;

SORTWORK=path;

SORTWORK=(<libref1> | path1,<libref2> | path2, ... <libref10> | path10)

NOSORTWORK

libref: specifies a library. Librefs must be assigned using a LIBNAME statement. When more than one libref is specified, they must be enclosed in parentheses.
path: specifies an OpenVMS pathname.
NOSORTWORK: deassigns the librefs or paths assigned using SORTWORK=.

Details

The SORTWORK= system option enables you to specify up to ten work files for the OpenVMS host sort. The paths and librefs defined in the SORTWORK= system option are assigned to the OpenVMS logical names SORTWORK0 through SORTWORK9. The OpenVMS host sort uses these logical names to determine where to create the host sort work files.

You can specify the NOSORTWORK option to deassign the logical names that are set using the SORTWORK= system option. Otherwise, they stay assigned until the SAS session is terminated.

The SORTWORKn logical names are not assigned during options processing. They are assigned during processing of the SORT procedure. The same applies to deassigning the logical names. If you specify OPTIONS NOSORTWORK, the deassigning of the logical names will not take place until another SORT procedure is submitted.

The SORT procedure option, SORTWKNO=, overrides the SORTWORK= system option. The SORTWKNO= SORT procedure option enables the user to specify how many work files the host sort should use. Valid values range from 0 through 99. No matter how many sort work file locations have been assigned through the SORTWORK= system option, the number that is specified with the SORTWKNO= SORT procedure option determines how many of the locations are used.

You can use the OpenVMS maximum of 10 sort work files by defining SORTWORK0 through SORTWORK9. If you specify locations with the SORTWORK= system option, SAS tells the sort utility how many work files to create (one per location). If you specify some number of SORTWORK= locations, but do not want to use them all for a particular PROC SORT command, use the SORTWKNO= option in the SORT procedure to specify exactly how many to use.

If you specify fewer SORTWORK= locations than the number that was specified with the SORTWKNO= SORT procedure option, then the extra work files will be created in SYS$SCRATCH.

Not specifying SORTWKNO= and specifying SORTWKNO=0 have the same effect: if SORTWORK= locations have been defined, the OpenVMS host sorting algorithm will determine which of these locations to use. To ensure that all of the defined SORTWORK= locations are used simultaneously, use the Hypersort V04-003 utility. For more information about this version of Hypersort, contact HP. For information about enabling the Hypersort utility, see the OpenVMS Help topic, sort.

If the SORTWORK= locations have not been defined, then 0 will be sent to the sort utility as the number of work files; this is the OpenVMS default. The default action is to create a work file if needed in SYS$SCRATCH.