is a numeric constant,
variable, or expression that specifies the number of units of time
for which you want to suspend execution of a program.
Range
n ≥ 0
Optional Argument
unit
specifies the unit
of time in seconds, which is applied to n.
For example, 1 corresponds to 1 second, .001 corresponds to 1 millisecond,
and 5 corresponds to 5 seconds.
Default
1 in a Windows PC environment, .001 in other environments
Details
The SLEEP function suspends
the execution of a program that invokes this function for a period
of time that you specify. The program can be a DATA step, macro, IML,
SCL, or anything that can invoke a function. The maximum sleep period
for the SLEEP function is 46 days.
Examples
Example 1: Suspending Execution for a Specified Period of Time
The following example
tells SAS to delay the execution of the DATA step PAYROLL for 20 seconds:
data payroll;
time_slept=sleep(20,1);
...more SAS statements...
run;
Example 2: Suspending Execution Based on a Calculation of Sleep Time
The following example
tells SAS to suspend the execution of the DATA step BUDGET until March
1, 2013, at 3:00 AM. SAS calculates the length of the suspension based
on the target date and the date and time that the DATA step begins
to execute.
data budget;
sleeptime='01mar2013:03:00'dt-'01mar2013:2:59:30'dt;
time_calc=sleep(sleeptime,1);
put 'Calculation of sleep time:';
put sleeptime='seconds';
run;