Basic SAS Procedures

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PROC CONTENTS

• Describes the structure of the data set rather than the data values.
• Displays valuable information at the...
  • Data set level
    • Name
    • Engine
    • Creation date
    • Number of observations
    • Number of variables
    • File size (bytes)
  • Variable level
    • Name
    • Type
    • Length
    • Formats
    • Position
    • Label
• Useful Options...
  • Position - output lists the variables by their position in the data set (default is alphabetical).
    
    

    proc contents data=test position; run;

    
    
  • Short - output is just the variable names in a row by row format.
    
    

    proc contents data=test short; run;

    
    
  • Out=filename - creates a data set where each observation is a variable from the original data set.
    
    

    proc contents data=test1 out=test2 noprint; run;

    
    

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Another topic?

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Questions or comments?  If you are affiliated with the Carolina Population Center, send them to Phil Bardsley.