Conditionally Processing Observations from Multiple SAS Data Sets

Introduction to Conditional Processing from Multiple SAS Data Sets

When combining SAS data sets, you can process observations conditionally, based on which data set contributed that observation. You can do the following:

Determine which data set contributed each observation in the combined data set.
Create a new data set that includes only selected observations from the data sets that you combine.
Determine when SAS is processing the last observation in the DATA step so that you can execute conditional operations, such as creating totals.

You have seen some of these concepts in earlier topics, but in this section you will apply them to the processing of multiple data sets. The examples use the SET statement, but you can also use all of the features that are discussed here with the MERGE, MODIFY, and UPDATE statements.

Prerequisites

Before using this section, you should understand the concepts presented in the following sections:

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