Functions and CALL Routines

SLEEP Function

For a specified period of time, suspends the execution of a program that invokes this function.

Category:	Special
See:	SLEEP Function under Windows

Syntax
Arguments
Details
Examples
	Example 1: Suspending Execution for a Specified Period of Time
	Example 2: Suspending Execution Based on a Calculation of Sleep Time
See Also

Syntax

SLEEP(n<,unit>)

Arguments

n

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:

unit

is a numeric constant, variable, or expression that specifies the unit of time, as a power of 10, which is applied to n. For example, 1 corresponds to a second, and .001 to a millisecond.

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, 2006, 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='01mar2006:03:00'dt-datetime(); 
   time_calc=sleep(sleeptime,1);
   ...more SAS statements...;
run;