SAS System Options

SORTEQUALS System Option

Specifies whether observations in the output data set with identical BY variable values have a particular order.

Valid in:	configuration file, SAS invocation, OPTIONS statement, SAS System OPTIONS window
Category:	Sort: Procedure options
PROC OPTIONS GROUP=	SORT

Syntax
Comparisons
See Also

Syntax

SORTEQUALS | NOSORTEQUALS

SORTEQUALS

specifies that observations with identical BY variable values are to retain the same relative positions in the output data set as in the input data set.

NOSORTEQUALS

specifies that no resources be used to control the order of observations with identical BY variable values in the output data set.

Interaction:	To achieve the best sorting performance when using the THREADS= system option, specify THREADS=YES and NOSORTEQUALS.
Tip:	To save resources, use NOSORTEQUALS when you do not need to maintain a specific order of observations with identical BY variable values.

Comparisons

The SORTEQUALS and NOSORTEQUALS system options set the sorting behavior of PROC SORT for your SAS session. The EQUAL or NOEQUAL option in the PROC SORT statement overrides the setting of the system option for an individual PROC step and specifies the sorting behavior for that PROC step only.