Macro Language Elements

Macro Statements

A macro language statement instructs the macro processor to perform an operation. It consists of a string of keywords, SAS names, and special characters and operators, and it ends in a semicolon. Some macro language statements are used only in macro definitions, but you can use others anywhere in a SAS session or job, either inside or outside macro definitions (referred to as open code). The following table lists macro language statements that you can use in both macro definitions and open code.

Macro Language Statements Used in Macro Definitions and Open Code
Statement	Description
%* comment	designates comment text.
%COPY	copies specified items from a SAS library.
%DISPLAY	displays a macro window.
%GLOBAL	creates macro variables that are available during the execution of an entire SAS session.
%INPUT	supplies values to macro variables during macro execution.
%LET	creates a macro variable and assigns it a value.
%MACRO	begins a macro definition.
%PUT	writes text or the values of macro variables to the SAS log.
%SYMDEL	deletes the indicated macro variable named in the argument.
%SYSCALL	invokes a SAS call routine.
%SYSEXEC	issues operating system commands.
%SYSLPUT	defines a new macro variable or modifies the value of an existing macro variable on a remote host or server.
%SYSRPUT	assigns the value of a macro variable on a remote host to a macro variable on the local host.
%WINDOW	defines customized windows.

The following table lists macro language statements that you can use only in macro definitions.

Macro Language Statements Used in Macro Definitions Only
Statement	Description
%ABORT	stops the macro that is executing along with the current DATA step, SAS job, or SAS session.
%DO	begins a %DO group.
%DO, Iterative	executes statements repetitively, based on the value of an index variable.
%DO %UNTIL	executes statements repetitively until a condition is true.
%DO %WHILE	executes statements repetitively while a condition is true.
%END	ends a %DO group.
%GOTO	branches macro processing to the specified label.
%IF-%THEN/%ELSE	conditionally processes a portion of a macro.
%label:	identifies the destination of a %GOTO statement.
%LOCAL	creates macro variables that are available only during the execution of the macro where they are defined.
%MEND	ends a macro definition.
%RETURN	causes normal termination of the currently executing macro.

Macro Statements That Perform Automatic Evaluation

Some macro statements perform an operation based on an evaluation of an arithmetic or logical expression. They perform the evaluation by automatically calling the %EVAL function. If you get an error message about a problem with %EVAL when a macro does not use %EVAL only, check for one of these statements. The following macro statements perform automatic evaluation:

%DO macro-variable=expression %TO expression <%BY expression>;

%DO %UNTIL(expression);

%DO %WHILE(expression);

%IF expression %THEN action;

For details about operands and operators in expressions, see Macro Expressions.

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