12 Ways to save SAS data
source/direct link: http://wiki.binghamton.edu/index.php/12_Ways_to_save_SAS_data
1 Using CARDS; File Save (with editor window active)
1.1 To get it back
2 Cut and Paste (ex. Fixed format data)
2.1 To Get Them Back (space-delimited or fixed-formatted text)
2.2 Links
3 LIBNAME
3.1 To get it (them) back
4 Explorer with one LIBNAME statement?, menu/New Library button, Library Icon
4.1 To get it back
5 DATA ' '; direct access (including Unix ex.)
5.1 To get it back
5.2 Links:
6 In Excel Save As .XLS
7 In Excel Save As CSV (move to Unix, SSH)
7.1 To get it back(in SAS for Windows)
7.2 To Move (Upload) the CSV File from Windows to Unix
7.3 To get the data back (on Unix)
7.4 Links
8 In SPSS Save as
8.1 To get it (our data) back
9 In SAS Save as XPT file
10 XML
11 LIBNAME sasengine
12 DBF (to be written)
12.1 Saving a DBF (from Access?)
12.2 To get it back
13 13 ?PROC DATASOURCE?, ?Stata, ?S-Plus (to be written)
Monday, December 22, 2008
In SAS, how do I create a transport data set file?
In SAS, how do I create a transport data set file?
Source/direct link:http://kb.iu.edu/data/aevb.html
A SAS transport data set file is a machine-independent file that allows you to move a SAS data set from one operating system to another. A SAS transport data set file can also be read directly by several statistical software packages (e.g., SPSS, BMDP).
Following is an example of SAS code to copy the SAS data set file job1.sas7bdat to a SAS transport data set file portable.xpt in the outdata directory:
LIBNAME misc '~/work';
LIBNAME sasxpt XPORT '~/outdata/portable.xpt';
PROC COPY IN=misc OUT=sasxpt;
SELECT job1;
RUN;
In the example above:
The first LIBNAME statement aliases the library reference (libref) misc to the work directory.
The second LIBNAME statement aliases the libref sasxpt with the physical name of a SAS transport format file (in this case, portable.xpt in the outdata directory).
The COPY procedure copies one or more SAS data sets in the IN= libref (in this case, misc) to the OUT= libref (in this case, sasxpt).
The SELECT statement specifies that only the file job1.sas7bdat should be included in the transport file portable.xpt .
The file and pathnames in the above example follow Unix conventions. If you are using SAS for Windows, you should follow the appropriate filename and pathname conventions.
For example, in SAS for Windows, the two LIBNAME statements in the above example would instead be:
LIBNAME misc 'c:\work';
LIBNAME sasxpt XPORT 'c:\outdata\portable.xpt';
Source/direct link:http://kb.iu.edu/data/aevb.html
A SAS transport data set file is a machine-independent file that allows you to move a SAS data set from one operating system to another. A SAS transport data set file can also be read directly by several statistical software packages (e.g., SPSS, BMDP).
Following is an example of SAS code to copy the SAS data set file job1.sas7bdat to a SAS transport data set file portable.xpt in the outdata directory:
LIBNAME misc '~/work';
LIBNAME sasxpt XPORT '~/outdata/portable.xpt';
PROC COPY IN=misc OUT=sasxpt;
SELECT job1;
RUN;
In the example above:
The first LIBNAME statement aliases the library reference (libref) misc to the work directory.
The second LIBNAME statement aliases the libref sasxpt with the physical name of a SAS transport format file (in this case, portable.xpt in the outdata directory).
The COPY procedure copies one or more SAS data sets in the IN= libref (in this case, misc) to the OUT= libref (in this case, sasxpt).
The SELECT statement specifies that only the file job1.sas7bdat should be included in the transport file portable.xpt .
The file and pathnames in the above example follow Unix conventions. If you are using SAS for Windows, you should follow the appropriate filename and pathname conventions.
For example, in SAS for Windows, the two LIBNAME statements in the above example would instead be:
LIBNAME misc 'c:\work';
LIBNAME sasxpt XPORT 'c:\outdata\portable.xpt';
Getting the Data into SAS
GETTING DATA INTO SAS
1. Importing data from other sources
• Use DBMS Copy, STAT Transfer, or some other software that performs similar functions.
• Use SAS/ACCESS or the SAS Import feature in Windows.
• Use PROC IMPORTS to read certain types of data files.
• Create a raw data (ASCII) file then use INPUT and INFILE statements to read the raw data file in SAS programs.
2. Creating SAS data sets with raw (ASCII) data files
• Data are placed within the SAS program directly after the DATALINES or CARDS statement. Use INPUT statement to read the data.
*** Read data within SAS program as SAS data file ***;
DATA survey;
INPUT Q1Major Q2Degree Q3SASpast Q4ProjData Q5SASexprn Q6SASfutur;
DATALINES;
2 1 1 1 2 8
2 2 0 0 0 7
2 1 0 0 1 4
2 1 0 1 0 8
more raw data lines
;
RUN;
• In the above example,
– Spaces (or other types of delimiters) are required between data values
– Missing values must be specified (blank spaces are treated as separators)
– Character data values cannot have embedded spaces (e.g., names and addresses)
– Cannot skip unwanted data column when reading in data
Getting Data Into SAS
• Data are placed in an external ASCII file. Use INFILE statement to identify the location of the external file and Use INPUT statement to read the data.
*** Read text (ASCII) data file as SAS data file ***;
DATA TXT_Surv;
INFILE "C:\Class\M403B\M403B2005Lab1Surv.TXT" missover;
INPUT @1 Q1Major 3.
@6 Q1Spec $char10.
@17 Q2Degree 3.
@22 Q2Spec $char10.
@33 Q3SASpast 2.
@36 Q4ProjData 2.
@39 Q5SASexprn 3.
@45 Q6SASfutur 3.
;
RUN;
Or,
*** Read text (ASCII) data file as SAS data file ***;
DATA TXT_Surv;
INFILE "C:\Class\M403B\M403B2005Lab1Surv.TXT" missover;
INPUT Q1Major 1-3
Q1Spec $ 6-15
Q2Degree 17-20
Q2Spec $ 22-31
Q3SASpast 33-34
Q4ProjData 36-37
Q5SASexprn 39-41
Q6SASfutur 45-47
;
RUN;
• In the above two examples,
– Spaces (or other types of delimiters) are not required between data values
– Missing values can be left blank
– Character data values can have embedded spaces (e.g., names and addresses)
– Can skip unwanted data columns when reading data
Getting Data Into SAS
• Check the SAS log to make sure the data are read correctly into SAS (e.g., number of observations, length of each record, and number of variables, etc.).
• If the length of records is very long (> 256 characters), use option LRECL=XXX in the INFILE statement, where XXX is the length of the longest record in the ASCII data file.
• If one or more records have unassigned (blank) missing values at the end of the record, use option MISSOVER in the INFILE statement to prevent SAS from going to the next record prematurely. MISSOVER tells SAS to assign missing values to these variables before going to the next record.
• If each record has multiple lines, in the INPUT statement, use a forward slash (/) after variable names in each line, or use #2 before variable names on the second line (and #3 for the third line, etc.). Note: the same number of lines per record is required, and use blank line(s) if some records do not have data in the corresponding data line(s).
*** Read multiple lines per record ***;
DATA twoliner;
INFILE ‘C:\rawdata\twolines.dat’;
INPUT id 1-8
sex 9-16
race 25-32 /
occ1 1-8
occ2 9-16
income 17-24
;
RUN;
Or,
*** Read multiple lines per record ***;
DATA twoliner;
INFILE ‘C:\rawdata\twolines.dat’;
INPUT #1 id 1-8
sex 17-24
race 25-32
#2 occ1 1-8
occ2 9-16
income 17-24
;
RUN;
Getting Data Into SAS
• If ASCII file contains variable names or other information at the beginning of the file, use option FIRSTOBS=X in the INFILE statement to skip the first X line(s).
• The default delimiter in SAS is a blank space (‘ ‘). If other type of delimiter, such as comma (‘,’) is used to separate data values, need to specify option DLM=’,’ (or DELIMITER=’,’) in the INFILE statement. Use option DSD if consecutive delimiters indicate missing values in between. Note: for tab delimited data, use option EXPANDTABS in the INFILE statement.
• If some columns of data values are not need, skip those columns when reading the raw data file. For example, the following program reads variables ID, OCC1, and INCOME, while other variables are not included in the output SAS data.
*** Read multiple lines per record and skip unwanted variables ***;
DATA twoliner;
INFILE ‘C:\rawdata\twolines.dat’;
INPUT #1 id 1-8
#2 occ1 1-8
income 17-24
;
RUN;
Getting Data Into SAS :
*** Define LIBREF MySASlib as a SAS library to store permanent SAS data sets ***;
LIBNAME MySASlib "C:\Class\M403B";
*** Create a permanent SAS data set Survey in LIBREF MySASlib in data step ***;
DATA MySASlib.Survey;
INFILE "C:\Class\M403B\M403B2005Lab1Surv.TXT" missover;
INPUT @1 Q1Major 3.
@6 Q1Spec $char10.
More input variables
;
RUN;
– MySASlib is the LIBREF, which refers to a subdirectory "C:\Class\M403B", and Survey is the name of the SAS data set, which can be found in the above subdirectory. Think of LIBREFs as pointers, where LIBREFs point to the location where permanent SAS data sets are located.
– More than one LIBNAME statements can be specified in one SAS program, if two or more permanent SAS data sets are created or used in different subdirectories.
• Identifying permanent SAS data sets
– Identify the permanent SAS data set by using an appropriate LIBREF, defined with a LIBNAME statement previously.
*** Examine the contents of a permanent SAS data set Survey located in LIBREF MySASlib using PROC CONTENTS ***;
PROC CONTENTS DATA=MySASlib.Survey Position;
RUN;
– The PROC CONTENTS option POSITION produces output with variables listed in the order in which they appear in the data set (by position), as well as alphabetically (the default).
Getting Data Into SAS
4. Exporting data from SAS data sets
• Use DBMS Copy, STAT Transfer, or some other software that performs similar functions.
• Use SAS/ACCESS or the SAS Export feature in Windows.
• Use PROC EXPORTS to write certain types of data files.
• Create raw data (ASCII) files using PUT and FILE statements in SAS program.
*** Define LIBREF M403 as a SAS library to store permanent SAS data sets ***;
LIBNAME M403 "C:\Class\M403B";
*** Write a text (ASCII) data file from a SAS data set ***;
DATA _NULL_;
SET M403.Survey
FILE "C:\Class\M403B\M403B_SurveyData.TXT" ;
PUT @1 Q1Major 3.
@6 Q1Spec $char10.
@17 Q2Degree 3.
@22 Q2Spec $char10.
@33 Q3SASpast 2.
@36 Q4ProjData 2.
@39 Q5SASexprn 3.
@45 Q6SASfutur 3.
;
RUN;
– In the above example, an ASCII file M403B_SurveyData.TXT is created and stored in a subdirectory "C:\Class\M403B" using a permanent SAS data set Survey stored in a SAS library referred by M403, which points to the subdirectory "C:\Class\M403B".
– If column numbers had not been specified, SAS would place a space between each variable value in the ASCII file.
– The SAS special data set _NULL_ is used because a SAS data set is not being created in this data step (_NULL_ tells SAS to not go to the trouble of building a SAS data set).
– It is not necessary to identify character variables with the $ sign because SAS already knows which variables are character variables.
Getting Data Into SAS
5. Transporting SAS data sets from one type of host (e.g., Unix) to another (e.g., Windows)
• In SAS Version 6 and lower, if a SAS data set is created in one type of host (e.g. Unix) and is used in another (e.g. Windows), a SAS transport file needs to be created first. This is not necessary in SAS Version 8 or higher. Using PROC COPY, the following example creates a SAS transport file called SAS_Surv.XPT from the SAS data set Survey located in the C:\Class\M403B subdirectory:
*** Define LIBREF M403 as a SAS library to store permanent SAS data sets ***;
LIBNAME M403 "C:\Class\M403B";
*** Define LIBREF XPT as a SAS transport file to be used in different host systems ***;
LIBNAME XPT XPORT "C:\Class\M403B\SAS_Surv.XPT";
*** Define LIBREF XPT as a SAS transport file to be used in different host systems ***;
PROC COPY IN=M403 OUT=XPT;
SELECT Survey;
RUN;
– XPORT is a SAS keyword that tells SAS to create a transport file.
– M403 is the LIBREF pointing to the location of the SAS data set; and XPT is the LIBREF referring to the SAS transport file.
– IN, OUT, and SELECT are SAS keywords specifying the input data set location (SAS data set), output data file (SAS transport file), and the name of the SAS data set from which the transport data set will be made.
• After the SAS transport file is created, SAS data set(s) contained in the transport file can be accessed directly in the "new" host. The following example creates a SAS dataset Survey from a SAS transport file SAS_Surv.XPT, which is located in C:\Class\M403B.
PROC COPY IN=XPT OUT=M403;
RUN;
DATA M403.Survey;
SET XPT.Survey;
RUN;
Friday, November 21, 2008
How to detect missing values using ARRAYS
Using an array in SAS to detect missing values
Direct link: http://ssc.utexas.edu/consulting/answers/sas/sas65.html
Question:
How do I exclude observations from my PROC FREQ analysis when a value is missing from a list of variables?
Answer:
In the SAS DATA step, you can create a new variable ("miss" in the example below) that is set equal to 1 when a variable has a missing value, 0 otherwise. Use the ARRAY statement and a DO loop to check for missing values across a list of variables; the syntax is:
DATA one ;
INFILE xxx;
INPUT a b c d e;
miss=0;
ARRAY vv(5) a b c d e ;
DO i=1 TO 5 ;
IF vv(i)=. THEN DO;
miss=1 ;
i=5;
END;
END;
RUN;
PROC FREQ;
WHERE miss =0;
TABLES a b c d e ;
RUN ;
Here, the array "vv" has 5 elements (a,b,c,d,e), and the loop "i" is likewise set to 5.
For each observation, the loop iterates 5 times, checking for missing values across the list of 5 variables. When a missing value is encountered, the variable "miss" is set to 1 and the loop stopped for that observation.
"Miss" was initially set to zero, and it is only changed if an observation has missing data on any of the five variables. The PROC FREQ then uses the WHERE statement to restrict processing to observations having "miss" set to zero.
Direct link: http://ssc.utexas.edu/consulting/answers/sas/sas65.html
Question:
How do I exclude observations from my PROC FREQ analysis when a value is missing from a list of variables?
Answer:
In the SAS DATA step, you can create a new variable ("miss" in the example below) that is set equal to 1 when a variable has a missing value, 0 otherwise. Use the ARRAY statement and a DO loop to check for missing values across a list of variables; the syntax is:
DATA one ;
INFILE xxx;
INPUT a b c d e;
miss=0;
ARRAY vv(5) a b c d e ;
DO i=1 TO 5 ;
IF vv(i)=. THEN DO;
miss=1 ;
i=5;
END;
END;
RUN;
PROC FREQ;
WHERE miss =0;
TABLES a b c d e ;
RUN ;
Here, the array "vv" has 5 elements (a,b,c,d,e), and the loop "i" is likewise set to 5.
For each observation, the loop iterates 5 times, checking for missing values across the list of 5 variables. When a missing value is encountered, the variable "miss" is set to 1 and the loop stopped for that observation.
"Miss" was initially set to zero, and it is only changed if an observation has missing data on any of the five variables. The PROC FREQ then uses the WHERE statement to restrict processing to observations having "miss" set to zero.
Want to know more about Missing Values...
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
SAS System Options in the UNIX environment
SAS System Options in the UNIX environment
Direct link:http://ssc.utexas.edu/consulting/answers/sas/sas55.html
Question:
How do I specify SAS system options in the UNIX environment?
Answer:
How you specify SAS system options depends on how you use SAS in the UNIX environment.
If you use SAS via an X-terminal or X-terminal emulation software such as Exodus or MacX, the command to launch SAS on ITS UNIX systems is
/usr/local/sas/sas
SAS system options are preceded by a hyphen and immediately follow the SAS command. For example, if you want to have SAS write its work files (including temporary datasets) to a directory called "mysasdir" located one level below your own current working directory, the syntax for invoking this option would be:
/usr/local/sas/sas -work ./mysasdir
If you use the SAS display manager system via a vt100 terminal interface such as telnet, the usual command to launch SAS is:
/usr/local/sas/sas -fsd ascii.vt100
The -fsd portion of this command is a SAS option which means "full screen device". You could add another SAS system option to this command, such as the -work option mentioned above:
/usr/local/sas/sas -fsd ascii.vt100 -work ./mysasdir
If you run SAS noninteractively by supplying the SAS program file "mysasprog" in the current directory, you would change your command from:
/usr/local/sas/sas mysasprog
to:
/usr/local/sas/sas -work ./mysasdir mysasprog
This would direct SAS to write any work files to the "mysasdir" directory as it processes the contents of your SAS program "mysasprog".
Each of these examples assumes you want to use a particular SAS system option once or a few times. If you intend to use a SAS system option repeatedly, it can be a nuisance to specify the same option each time you invoke SAS. For this type of situation, you can copy the config.sas612 file located in the /usr/local/sas/sas612 directory and edit it using a UNIX text editor.
The config.sas file is a SAS configuration file that contains default settings for a number of SAS system options; you may change the default settings of these options as well as delete or add options of your choosing to this file. If you then launch SAS from the same directory as the config.sas612 file, SAS will use those options.
Direct link:http://ssc.utexas.edu/consulting/answers/sas/sas55.html
Question:
How do I specify SAS system options in the UNIX environment?
Answer:
How you specify SAS system options depends on how you use SAS in the UNIX environment.
If you use SAS via an X-terminal or X-terminal emulation software such as Exodus or MacX, the command to launch SAS on ITS UNIX systems is
/usr/local/sas/sas
SAS system options are preceded by a hyphen and immediately follow the SAS command. For example, if you want to have SAS write its work files (including temporary datasets) to a directory called "mysasdir" located one level below your own current working directory, the syntax for invoking this option would be:
/usr/local/sas/sas -work ./mysasdir
If you use the SAS display manager system via a vt100 terminal interface such as telnet, the usual command to launch SAS is:
/usr/local/sas/sas -fsd ascii.vt100
The -fsd portion of this command is a SAS option which means "full screen device". You could add another SAS system option to this command, such as the -work option mentioned above:
/usr/local/sas/sas -fsd ascii.vt100 -work ./mysasdir
If you run SAS noninteractively by supplying the SAS program file "mysasprog" in the current directory, you would change your command from:
/usr/local/sas/sas mysasprog
to:
/usr/local/sas/sas -work ./mysasdir mysasprog
This would direct SAS to write any work files to the "mysasdir" directory as it processes the contents of your SAS program "mysasprog".
Each of these examples assumes you want to use a particular SAS system option once or a few times. If you intend to use a SAS system option repeatedly, it can be a nuisance to specify the same option each time you invoke SAS. For this type of situation, you can copy the config.sas612 file located in the /usr/local/sas/sas612 directory and edit it using a UNIX text editor.
The config.sas file is a SAS configuration file that contains default settings for a number of SAS system options; you may change the default settings of these options as well as delete or add options of your choosing to this file. If you then launch SAS from the same directory as the config.sas612 file, SAS will use those options.
How to Debug the SAS code
Debugging SAS code
Direct link: http://ssc.utexas.edu/consulting/answers/sas/sas54.html
Question:
I have a huge SAS program that isn't working. The results I get are not right but there are no errors or warnings in the SAS log. How can I figure out where I went wrong?
Answer:
To debug a SAS program that produces no syntax errors, follow these six steps:
1. Check to see that your original data input is correct for all variables.
2. If the data is input to SAS correctly, go to the other end of the program. Select a variable or a small set of variables involved in the analyses where you get the wrong results. Use PROC FREQ, PROC MEANS, and/or PROC PRINT to examine these variables. There should be a problem with at least one; identify exactly how these variables are incorrect.
3. Now follow these variables back through each operation you performed, always looking at the characteristics in question. In this way you can narrow down the exact step where an error occurs. Prior to the questionable step, the variable characteristics will be appropriate; after the step they will be inappropriate.
4. Look carefully at the code for that step. Continue using PROC PRINT, PROC FREQ, and PROC MEANS to examine the effect of each statement. In this way, you can identify the exact statement or statement group that is not working as you expect.
5. Next, get a clear understanding of how the statement is working (as opposed to how you think it should work) by consulting the SAS Help function; click on the Help button in the SAS menu bar and scroll to SAS Help and Documentation; then, search for the particular statement or procedure. The results in hand should help you interpret the documentation.
6. Finally, determine the appropriate code for your needs. Remember to check for other statements that involve this mistake.
Direct link: http://ssc.utexas.edu/consulting/answers/sas/sas54.html
Question:
I have a huge SAS program that isn't working. The results I get are not right but there are no errors or warnings in the SAS log. How can I figure out where I went wrong?
Answer:
To debug a SAS program that produces no syntax errors, follow these six steps:
1. Check to see that your original data input is correct for all variables.
2. If the data is input to SAS correctly, go to the other end of the program. Select a variable or a small set of variables involved in the analyses where you get the wrong results. Use PROC FREQ, PROC MEANS, and/or PROC PRINT to examine these variables. There should be a problem with at least one; identify exactly how these variables are incorrect.
3. Now follow these variables back through each operation you performed, always looking at the characteristics in question. In this way you can narrow down the exact step where an error occurs. Prior to the questionable step, the variable characteristics will be appropriate; after the step they will be inappropriate.
4. Look carefully at the code for that step. Continue using PROC PRINT, PROC FREQ, and PROC MEANS to examine the effect of each statement. In this way, you can identify the exact statement or statement group that is not working as you expect.
5. Next, get a clear understanding of how the statement is working (as opposed to how you think it should work) by consulting the SAS Help function; click on the Help button in the SAS menu bar and scroll to SAS Help and Documentation; then, search for the particular statement or procedure. The results in hand should help you interpret the documentation.
6. Finally, determine the appropriate code for your needs. Remember to check for other statements that involve this mistake.
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