The DATASOURCE Procedure

Subsetting Input Data Files

When only a subset of a data file is needed, it is inefficient to extract all the data and then subset it in a subsequent DATA step. Instead, you can use the DATASOURCE procedure options and statements to extract only needed information from the data file.

The DATASOURCE procedure offers the following subsetting capabilities:

  • the INTERVAL= option controls the frequency of data output

  • the KEEP or DROP statement selects a subset of time series variables

  • the RANGE statement restricts the time range of data

  • the WHERE statement selects a subset of cross sections