The zoned decimal format is similar to standard numeric format in that every digit requires one byte. However, the value's sign is in the last byte, along with the last digit.

Note: Different operating environments store zoned decimal values in different ways. However, the ZDw.d format writes zoned decimal values with consistent results if the values are created in the same type of operating environment that you use to run SAS.

Comparisons

The following table compares the zoned decimal format with notation in several programming languages:

Language	Zoned Decimal Notation
SAS	ZD3.
PL/I	PICTURE '99T'
COBOL	DISPLAY PIC S 999
IBM 370 assembler	ZL3

Example

y=put(x,zd4.);
put y $hex8.;

Value of `x`	Result 1
120	F0F1F2C0
1The result is a hexadecimal representation of a binary number in zoned decimal format on an IBM mainframe computer. Each byte occupies one column of the output field.