SAS Component Language Dictionary

DREAD

Returns the name of a directory member

Category:

Syntax

name=DREAD(directory-id,member-num);

name

contains either the name of the member, or a blank if an error occurs (for example, if nval is out-of-range).

Type: Character

directory-id

contains the identifier that was assigned when the directory was opened. If directory-id is invalid, the program halts.

Type: Numeric

member-num

is the sequence number of the member within the directory.

Type: Numeric

Details

Use DNUM to determine the highest possible member number that can be passed to DREAD. DREAD works only if the directory was previously opened by the DOPEN function.

Example

Open the directory identified by the fileref MYDIR, retrieve the number of members and place the number in the variable MEMCOUNT, retrieve the name of the last member and place the name in the variable LSTNAME, and then close the directory:

   /* Assign the fileref MYDIR to the          */
   /* filename stored in the variable DIRNAME  */
   /* and open it.                             */
rc=filename('mydir',dirname);
dirid=dopen('mydir')
lstname='';
memcount=dnum(dirid);
if (memcount>0) then
   lstname=dread(dirid,memcount);
rc=dclose(dirid);