A hash object in SAS 9.4M7 might consume significantly more memory than in previous SAS releases, and this issue can cause out-of-memory conditions.

This problem occurs when the HASHEXP method is not specified when defining the hash object. The amount of memory that is allocated can vary, depending on the data within the defined hash.

The workaround is to define the hash object with the HASHEXP method, as illustrated by the syntax fragment below:

The default for HASHEXP was hardwired at 8 in SAS^® 9.4M6 (TS1M6) and earlier. In SAS 9.4M7 and later, the default changed (it is determined dynamically in SAS 9.4M7). However, specifying HASHEXP:8 in the DECLARE statement will dramatically reduce the step memory footprint than not coding the method. The value for the HASHEXP method depends on usage. It is recommended that you test different values to find the optimal value for each case.

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