REUSE= Data Set Option

Specifies whether new rows can be written to freed space in a compressed SAS data set.

Valid in:	DATA and PROC steps
Category:	Data Set Control
Restriction:	Use with output data sets only.
Supports:	SAS data set

Syntax

Syntax Description

Details

Comparisons

Syntax

REUSE=NO | YES

Syntax Description

NO

does not track and reuse space in a compressed SAS data set. New rows are appended to the existing data set. Specifying NO results in less efficient data storage if you delete or update many rows in the data set.

YES

tracks and reuses space in a compressed SAS data set. New rows are inserted in the space that is freed when other rows are updated or deleted.

If you plan to use procedures that add rows to the end of a compressed SAS data set (for example, the APPEND and FSEDIT procedures), use REUSE=NO. REUSE=YES causes new rows to be added wherever there is space in the file, not necessarily at the end of the file.

Details

By default, new rows are appended to an existing compressed SAS data set. If you want to track and reuse free space by deleting or updating other rows, use the REUSE= data set option when you create a compressed SAS data set.

REUSE= has meaning only when you are creating a new data set with the COMPRESS=YES data set option or system option. Using REUSE= when you are accessing an existing SAS data set has no effect.

Comparisons

The REUSE= data set option overrides the REUSE= system option.