If the DS2 procedure or the runDS2 action runs a DS2 program with a LIKE operator that results in an empty string, the following error messages can occur for SAS^® Viya^® 3.5:

The code here is an example of what can produce these errors:

The left side of the LIKE operator should be an empty string (''), which requires either a hardcoded literal or a variable with the type of VARCHAR. A fixed-length variable with the type of CHAR does not hold an empty string because of its fixed length, and the length must always be greater than or equal to 1.

Any product that produces PROC DS2 code, such as SAS^® Event Stream Processing and SAS^® Intelligent Decisioning, can experience this problem.

Click the Hot Fix tab in this note for a link to instructions about accessing and applying the software update.

Operating System and Release Information

Viya on Linux: An update for this issue is available for SAS Viya 3.5. For instructions on how to access and apply software updates, see the Updating Your SAS Viya software section in the SAS Viya 3.5 for Linux Deployment Guide at