Computer Resources

The data are first read and sorted into strata. If the data are originally sorted by failure time and censoring state, with smaller failure times coming first and event values preceding censored values in cases of ties, the data can be processed by strata without additional sorting. Otherwise, the data are read into memory by strata and sorted.

Memory Requirements

For a given BY group, define the following:

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

The memory, in bytes, required to process the BY group is at least

     

The test of equality of survival functions across strata requires additional memory ( bytes). However, if this additional memory is not available, PROC LIFETEST skips the test for equality of survival functions and finishes the other computations. Additional memory is required for the PLOTS= option. Temporary storage of bytes is required to store the product-limit estimates for plotting.