HAS_PREV Method

Determines whether there is a previous item in the current key's multiple data item list.

Applies to: Hash object

Syntax

rc=object.HAS_PREV (RESULT: R);

Arguments

rc

specifies whether the method succeeded or failed.

A return code of zero indicates success; a nonzero value indicates failure. If you do not supply a return code variable for the method call and the method fails, then an appropriate error message is written to the log.

object

specifies the name of the hash object.

RESULT:R

specifies the numeric variable R, which receives a zero value if there is not another data item in the data item list or a nonzero value if there is another data item in the data item list.

Details

If a key has multiple data items, you can use the HAS_PREV method to determine whether there is a previous item in the current key's multiple data item list. If there is a previous item, the method will return a nonzero value in the numeric variable R. Otherwise, it will return a zero.
The FIND method determines whether the key exists in the hash object. The HAS_NEXT method determines whether the key has multiple data items associated with it. When you have determined that the key has a previous data item, that data item can be retrieved by using the FIND_PREV method, which sets the data variable to the value of the data item so that it is available for use after the method call. Once you are in the data item list, you can use the HAS_PREV and FIND_PREV methods in addition to the HAS_NEXT and FIND_NEXT methods to traverse the list. See HAS_NEXT Method for an example.

See Also

Non-Unique Key and Data Pairs in SAS Language Reference: Concepts