ITEM_SIZE Attribute

Returns the size (in bytes) of an item in a hash object.

Applies to:

Hash object

Syntax

variable_name=object.ITEM_SIZE;

Arguments

variable_name

specifies the name of the variable that contains the size of the item in the hash object.

object

specifies the name of the hash object.

Details

The ITEM_SIZE attribute returns the size (in bytes) of an item, which includes the key and data variables and some additional internal information. You can get an estimate of how much memory the hash object is using with the ITEM_SIZE and NUM_ITEMS attributes. The ITEM_SIZE attribute does not reflect the initial overhead that the hash object requires, nor does it take into account any necessary internal alignments. Therefore, ITEM_SIZE does not provide exact memory usage, but it does return a good approximation.

Example: Returning the Size of a Hash Item

The following example uses ITEM_SIZE to return the size of the item in MYHASH:

data work.stock;
   input prod $1-10 qty 12-14;
   datalines;
broccoli 345
corn 389
potato 993
onion 730
;
data _null_;
   if _N_ = 1 then do;
      length prod $10;
   /* Declare hash object and read STOCK data set as ordered */
      declare hash myhash(dataset: "work.stock");
      /* Define key and data variables */
      myhash.defineKey('prod');
      myhash.defineData('qty');
      myhash.defineDone();
   end;
   /* Add a key and data value to the hash object */
   prod = 'celery';
   qty = 183;
   rc = myhash.add();
   
   /* Use ITEM_SIZE to return the size of the item in hash object */
   itemsize = myhash.item_size;
   put itemsize=;
run;

itemsize=40 is written to the SAS log.