Statements

DATALINES4 Statement

Indicates that data lines that contain semicolons follow.

Valid:	in a DATA step
Category:	File-handling
Type:	Declarative
Aliases:	CARDS4, LINES4

Syntax
Without Arguments
Details
Comparisons
Examples
See Also

Syntax

DATALINES4;

Without Arguments

Use the DATALINES4 statement together with an INPUT statement to read data that contain semicolons that you enter directly in the program.

Details

The DATALINES4 statement is the last statement in the DATA step and immediately precedes the first data line. Follow the data lines with four consecutive semicolons that are located in columns 1 through 4.

Comparisons

Use the DATALINES4 statement when data contain semicolons. If your data do not contain semicolons, use the DATALINES statement.

Examples

In this example, SAS reads data lines that contain internal semicolons until it encounters a line of four semicolons. Execution continues with the rest of the program.

data biblio;
   input number citation $50.;
   datalines4;
  KIRK, 1988
2  LIN ET AL., 1995; BRADY, 1993
3  BERG, 1990; ROA, 1994; WILLIAMS, 1992
;;;;