SUPPORT / SAMPLES & SAS NOTES
Problem Note 45363: Sorting a SAS® data set using IBM DFSORT as the host sort utility might cause the last byte of the data set to be replaced with x'00'
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If you sort a SAS data set using IBM DFSORT as the host sort utility, the last byte of the data set might be replaced with x'00'. This occurs under the following conditions:
The PROC CONTENTS output shows the length of the observation and the relative position of the variables.
*
For software releases that are not yet generally available, the Fixed
Release is the software release in which the problem is planned to be
fixed.
- One of the BY variables extends beyond offset 4096
- The same variable is the next-to-last variable
- And the last variable in the data set is 1 byte long.
There are a few ways to circumvent this problem.
- Reorder the variables within the SAS data set so that the BY variables occur within the first 4096 bytes of the SAS data set.
- Ensure that the last variable in the data set is not a 1-byte character variable.
- Use the SAS internal sort by setting the SAS system option SORTPGM=SAS before the PROC SORT step.
proc contents data=work.problem position; run;
The CONTENTS Procedure
Data Set Name WORK.PROBLEM Observations 0
Member Type DATA Variables 6
Engine V9 Indexes 0
Created Friday, January 13, Observation Length 4201
2012 02:42:59 PM
Last Modified Friday, January 13, Deleted Observations 0
2012 02:42:59 PM
Protection Compressed NO
Data Set Type Sorted NO
Label
Data Representation MVS_32
Encoding open_ed-1047 Western
(OpenEdition)
....
Variables in Creation Order
# Variable Type Len
1 X1 Char 1000
2 X2 Char 1000
3 X3 Char 1000
4 X4 Char 1000
5 X5 Char 200 <--- sort on next-to-last variable
6 Y Char 1 <--- last variable is length 1
Click the Hot Fix tab in this note to access the hot fix for this issue.
Operating System and Release Information
| Product Family | Product | System | SAS Release | |
| Reported | Fixed* | |||
| SAS System | Base SAS | Z64 | ||
| z/OS | 9.4 TS1M0 | |||