Statements

PUTLOG Statement

Writes a message to the SAS log.

Valid:	in a DATA step
Category:	Action
Type:	Executable

Syntax
Arguments
Details
Comparisons
Examples
	Example 1: Writing Messages to the SAS Log Using the PUTLOG Statement
See Also

Syntax

PUTLOG 'message';

Arguments

message

specifies the message that you want to write to the SAS log. Message can include character literals (enclosed in quotation marks), variable names, formats, and pointer controls.

Tip:	You can precede your message text with WARNING, MESSAGE, or NOTE to better identify the output in the log.

Details

The PUTLOG statement writes a message that you specify to the SAS log. The PUTLOG statement is also helpful when you use macro-generated code because you can send output to the SAS log without affecting the current file destination.

Comparisons

The PUTLOG statement is similar to the ERROR statement except that PUTLOG does not set _ERROR_ to 1.

Examples

Example 1: Writing Messages to the SAS Log Using the PUTLOG Statement

The following program creates the computeAverage92 macro, which computes the average score, validates input data, and uses the PUTLOG statement to write error messages to the SAS log. The DATA step uses the PUTLOG statement to write a warning message to the log.

data ExamScores;
   input Name $ 1-16 Score1 Score2 Score3;
   datalines;
Sullivan, James   86 92 88
Martinez, Maria   95 91 92
Guzik, Eugene     99 98 . 
Schultz, John     90 87 93
van Dyke, Sylvia  98 . 91
Tan, Carol        93 85 85 
;

options pageno=1 nodate linesize=80 pagesize=60;  
filename outfile 'your-output-file';

   /* Create a macro that computes the average score, validates  */
   /* input data, and uses PUTLOG to write error messages to the */
   /* SAS log.                                                   */
%macro computeAverage92(s1, s2, s3, avg);
   if &s1 < 0 or &s2 < 0 or &s3 < 0 then
      do;
	        putlog 'ERROR: Invalid score data ' &s1= &s2= &s3=;
         &avg = .;
	     end;
	  else
	     &avg = mean(&s1, &s2, &s3);
%mend;

data _null_;
set ExamScores;
   file outfile;
   %computeAverage92(Score1, Score2, Score3, AverageScore);
   put name Score1 Score2 Score3 AverageScore;

      /* Use PUTLOG to write a warning message to the SAS log. */
   if AverageScore < 92 then
     	 putlog 'WARNING: Score below the minimum ' name= AverageScore= 5.2;
run;
  
proc print;
run;

The following lines are written to the SAS log.

SAS Log Results from the PUTLOG Statement

WARNING: Score below the minimum Name=Sullivan, James AverageScore=88.67
ERROR: Invalid score data Score1=99 Score2=98 Score3=.
WARNING: Score below the minimum Name=Guzik, Eugene AverageScore=.
WARNING: Score below the minimum Name=Schultz, John AverageScore=90.00
ERROR: Invalid score data Score1=98 Score2=. Score3=91
WARNING: Score below the minimum Name=van Dyke, Sylvia AverageScore=.
WARNING: Score below the minimum Name=Tan, Carol AverageScore=87.67

SAS creates the following output file.

Individual Examination Scores

                                  Exam Scores                                  1

             Obs    Name                Score1    Score2    Score3

              1     Sullivan, James       86        92        88
              2     Martinez, Maria       95        91        92
              3     Guzik, Eugene         99        98         .
              4     Schultz, John         90        87        93
              5     van Dyke, Sylvia      98         .        91
              6     Tan, Carol            93        85        85