The DATASOURCE Procedure
- Overview
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Getting Started
Structure of a SAS Data Set Containing Time Series DataReading Data FilesSubsetting Input Data FilesControlling the Frequency of Data – The INTERVAL= OptionSelecting Time Series Variables – The KEEP and DROP StatementsControlling the Time Range of Data – The RANGE StatementReading in Data Files Containing Cross SectionsObtaining Descriptive Information on Cross SectionsSubsetting a Data File Containing Cross SectionsRenaming Time Series VariablesChanging the Lengths of Numeric Variables -
Syntax
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Details
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ExamplesBEA National Income and Product AccountsBLS Consumer Price Index SurveysBLS State and Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings SurveysDRI/McGraw-Hill Format CITIBASE FilesDRI Data Delivery Service DatabasePC Format CITIBASE DatabaseQuarterly COMPUSTAT Data FilesAnnual COMPUSTAT Data Files, V9.2 New Filetype CSAUC3CRSP Daily NYSE/AMEX Combined Stocks
- References
LENGTH Statement
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LENGTH variable-list length …;
The LENGTH statement, like the LENGTH= option in the ATTRIBUTE statement, specifies the number of bytes used to store values of variables in output data sets. The default lengths for numeric variables depend on the file type. Usually default lengths are set to 5 bytes.
The default lengths of character variables are defined as the minimum number of characters that can hold the longest possible value.
For some file types, the LENGTH statement also controls the amount of memory used to store values of numeric variables while processing the input data file. Thus, specifying LENGTH values smaller than the default will reduce both the disk space taken up by the output data sets and the amount of memory used by the PROC DATASOURCE step, at the cost of precision of output data values.
Any later length specification for a variable, using either the LENGTH statement or the LENGTH= option in the ATTRIBUTE statement, always overrides the previous one.