Language Reference

BYTE Function

BYTE (matrix);

The BYTE function returns values in a computer’s character set. The input to the function is a numeric matrix, each element of which specifies the position of a character in the computer’s character set. These numeric elements should generally be in the range 0 to 255. The BYTE function returns a character matrix with the same shape as the numeric argument.

For example, in the ASCII character set, the following two statements are equivalent: 

a1 = byte(47);
a2 = "/";       /* the slash character */
print a1 a2;

Figure 25.64: Specifying the Slash Character

a1 a2
/ / 




            

            


            
The lowercase English letters can be generated with the following statement, shown in Figure 25.65: 
            


y = byte(97:122);    /* or use "a":"z" */
print y;



  

            

               
Figure 25.65: Lowercase English Letters

               

                  

                     
                     

                        
                        
                        

                           
                           

                              
                              































y
                                       
                                    



a
                                       
                                       b
                                       
                                       c
                                       
                                       d
                                       
                                       e
                                       
                                       f
                                       
                                       g
                                       
                                       h
                                       
                                       i
                                       
                                       j
                                       
                                       k
                                       
                                       l
                                       
                                       m
                                       
                                       n
                                       
                                       o
                                       
                                       p
                                       
                                       q
                                       
                                       r
                                       
                                       s
                                       
                                       t
                                       
                                       u
                                       
                                       v
                                       
                                       w
                                       
                                       x
                                       
                                       y
                                       
                                       z
                                       
                                    





                           
                        

                        



                     
                     
                  





            

            


            
The BYTE function simplifies the use of special characters and control sequences that cannot be entered directly into SAS/IML
               programs by using the keyboard. Consult the character set tables for your computer to determine the printable and control
               characters that are available and their ordinal positions.