SAS Functions Syntax
Arguments, Variable Lists, Arrays
To use a SAS function,
specify the function name followed by the function arguments, which
are enclosed in parentheses.
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Syntax, SAS function:
function-name(argument-1<,argument-n>);
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Note: Even if the function does
not require arguments, the function name must still be followed by
parentheses (for example, function-name()).
When a function contains
more than one argument, the arguments are usually separated by commas.
function-name(argument-1,argument-2,argument-n) In some functions, variable lists and arrays can also
be used as arguments, as long as the list or the array is preceded
by the word of. For more information
about arrays, see Processing Data with Arrays.
Example: Multiple Arguments
Here is an example of
a function that contains multiple arguments. Notice that the arguments
are separated by commas.
mean(x1,x2,x3)
The arguments for this
function can also be written as a variable list.
mean(of x1-x3)
As an alternative, the
variables can be referenced by an array.
mean(of newarray{*})Target Variables
A target variable
is the variable to which the result of a function is assigned. For
example, in the statement below, the variable AvgScore is the target
variable.
AvgScore=mean(exam1,exam2,exam3);
Unless the length of
the target variable has been previously defined, a default length
is assigned. The default length depends on the function; the default
for character functions can be as long as 200.
Tip
Default lengths can cause
character variables to use more space than necessary in your data
set. So, when using SAS functions, consider the appropriate length
for any character target variables. If necessary, add a LENGTH statement
to specify a length for the character target variable before the statement
that creates the values of that variable.
Last updated: January 10, 2018
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