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| The COMPARE Procedure |
Overview: COMPARE Procedure
| What Does the COMPARE Procedure Do? |
The COMPARE procedure compares the contents of two SAS data sets, selected variables in different data sets, or variables within the same data set.
PROC COMPARE compares two data sets: the base data set and the comparison data set. The procedure determines matching variables and matching observations. Matching variables are variables with the same name or variables that you pair by using the VAR and WITH statements. Matching variables must be of the same type. Matching observations are observations that have the same values for all ID variables that you specify or, if you do not use the ID statement, that occur in the same position in the data sets. If you match observations by ID variables, then both data sets must be sorted by all ID variables.
| What Information Does PROC COMPARE Provide? |
PROC COMPARE generates the following information about the two data sets that are being compared:
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whether matching variables have different values
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whether one data set has more observations than the other
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what variables the two data sets have in common
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how many variables are in one data set but not in the other
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whether matching variables have different formats, labels, or types.
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a comparison of the values of matching observations.
Further, PROC COMPARE creates two kinds of output data sets that give detailed information about the differences between observations of variables it is comparing.
The following example compares the data sets PROCLIB.ONE and PROCLIB.TWO, which contain similar data about students:
data proclib.one(label='First Data Set'); input student year $ state $ gr1 gr2; label year='Year of Birth'; format gr1 4.1; datalines; 1000 1970 NC 85 87 1042 1971 MD 92 92 1095 1969 PA 78 72 1187 1970 MA 87 94 ; data proclib.two(label='Second Data Set'); input student $ year $ state $ gr1 gr2 major $; label state='Home State'; format gr1 5.2; datalines; 1000 1970 NC 84 87 Math 1042 1971 MA 92 92 History 1095 1969 PA 79 73 Physics 1187 1970 MD 87 74 Dance 1204 1971 NC 82 96 French ;
| How Can PROC COMPARE Output Be Customized? |
PROC COMPARE produces lengthy output. You can use one or more options to determine the kinds of comparisons to make and the degree of detail in the report. For example, in the following PROC COMPARE step, the NOVALUES option suppresses the part of the output that shows the differences in the values of matching variables:
proc compare base=proclib.one compare=proclib.two novalues; run;
The SAS System 1
COMPARE Procedure
Comparison of PROCLIB.ONE with PROCLIB.TWO
(Method=EXACT)
Data Set Summary
Dataset Created Modified NVar NObs Label
PROCLIB.ONE 13MAY98:15:01:42 13MAY98:15:01:42 5 4 First Data Set
PROCLIB.TWO 13MAY98:15:01:44 13MAY98:15:01:44 6 5 Second Data Set
Variables Summary
Number of Variables in Common: 5.
Number of Variables in PROCLIB.TWO but not in PROCLIB.ONE: 1.
Number of Variables with Conflicting Types: 1.
Number of Variables with Differing Attributes: 3.
Listing of Common Variables with Conflicting Types
Variable Dataset Type Length
student PROCLIB.ONE Num 8
PROCLIB.TWO Char 8
Listing of Common Variables with Differing Attributes
Variable Dataset Type Length Format Label
year PROCLIB.ONE Char 8 Year of Birth
PROCLIB.TWO Char 8
state PROCLIB.ONE Char 8
PROCLIB.TWO Char 8 Home State The SAS System 2
COMPARE Procedure
Comparison of PROCLIB.ONE with PROCLIB.TWO
(Method=EXACT)
Listing of Common Variables with Differing Attributes
Variable Dataset Type Length Format Label
gr1 PROCLIB.ONE Num 8 4.1
PROCLIB.TWO Num 8 5.2
Observation Summary
Observation Base Compare
First Obs 1 1
First Unequal 1 1
Last Unequal 4 4
Last Match 4 4
Last Obs . 5
Number of Observations in Common: 4.
Number of Observations in PROCLIB.TWO but not in PROCLIB.ONE: 1.
Total Number of Observations Read from PROCLIB.ONE: 4.
Total Number of Observations Read from PROCLIB.TWO: 5.
Number of Observations with Some Compared Variables Unequal: 4.
Number of Observations with All Compared Variables Equal: 0. The SAS System 3
COMPARE Procedure
Comparison of PROCLIB.ONE with PROCLIB.TWO
(Method=EXACT)
Values Comparison Summary
Number of Variables Compared with All Observations Equal: 1.
Number of Variables Compared with Some Observations Unequal: 3.
Total Number of Values which Compare Unequal: 6.
Maximum Difference: 20.
Variables with Unequal Values
Variable Type Len Compare Label Ndif MaxDif
state CHAR 8 Home State 2
gr1 NUM 8 2 1.000
gr2 NUM 8 2 20.000
Procedure Output shows the default output for these two data sets. Producing a Complete Report of the Differences shows the complete output for these two data sets.
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Copyright © 2010 by SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved.