The SORT Procedure

Results: SORT Procedure

PROC SORT produces only an output data set. To see the output data set, you can use PROC PRINT, PROC REPORT, or another of the many available methods of printing in SAS.

Output Data Set

Without the OUT= option, PROC SORT replaces the original data set with the sorted observations when the procedure executes without errors. When you specify the OUT= option using a new data set name, PROC SORT creates a new data set that contains the sorted observations.

Task	Statement
implicit replacement of input data set	proc sort data=names;
explicit replacement of input data set	proc sort data=names out=names;
no replacement of input data set	proc sort data=names out=namesbyid;

With all three replacement options (implicit replacement, explicit replacement, and no replacement) there must be at least enough space in the output library for a copy of the original data set.

You can also sort compressed data sets. If you specify a compressed data set as the input data set and omit the OUT= option, then the input data set is sorted and remains compressed. If you specify an OUT= data set, then the resulting data set is compressed only if you choose a compression method with the COMPRESS= data set option. For more information about COMPRESS=, see the chapter on SAS data set options in SAS Language Reference: Dictionary.

Also note that PROC SORT manipulates the uncompressed observation in memory and, if there is insufficient memory to complete the sort, stores the uncompressed data in a utility file. For these reasons, sorting compressed data sets might be intensive and require more storage than anticipated. Consider using the TAGSORT option when sorting compressed data sets.

Note: If the SAS system option NOREPLACE is in effect, then you cannot replace an original permanent data set with a sorted version. You must either use the OUT= option or specify the SAS system option REPLACE in an OPTIONS statement. The SAS system option NOREPLACE does not affect temporary SAS data sets. [cautionend]

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