topic Re: Macro variable not refreshing values in SAS Programming

Macro variable not refreshing values

PJ007 — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 21:30:38 GMT

Hi all,

I have a macro variable inside a macro. The problem is that the value of this macro variable maxnum is not getting refreshed when the macro is executed again in a loop. It is still retaining the old value from the first run of the loop.

%macro abc;

proc sql noprint;
select max(anumber) into :maxnum
from table1;
quit;

%mend abc;

%macro import;

%do I=1 %to &totobs. ;
data _null_;
set bcf;
If obs=&i. ;

IF filetype=".csv" THEN call execute ('%abc') ;
run;

%end;
%MEND Import;
%Import;

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Re: Macro variable not refreshing values

Tom — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 00:43:08 GMT

Your ABC macro has nothing in it that changes. You an run it a thousand times and it will always do the same thing.

Re: Macro variable not refreshing values

PJ007 — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 14:01:37 GMT

%macro abc;

proc sql noprint;
select max(anumber) into :maxnum
from table1;
quit;

%mend abc;

%macro import;

%do I=1 %to &totobs. ;
data _null_;
set bcf_directory;
If obs=&i. ;

IF filetype=".csv" THEN call execute ('%abc') ;
run;

%end;
%MEND Import;
%Import;

Re: Macro variable not refreshing values

PJ007 — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 14:04:41 GMT

I am sorry, I cannot post the full code. But in the actual code, the import macro scans the directory and picks one csv file after another.

Even though the csv file changes the value of the macro variables in the actual macro does not change, that is the issue I am facing.

Re: Macro variable not refreshing values

Tom — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 14:06:22 GMT

You seem to have posted the same code again.

Note that running %abc macro multiple times in a row will not magically cause it to do anything different if nothing has changed between the runs.

Perhaps you have over simplified your actual problem?

In that case you should make sure to use %NRSTR() when calling a macro via CALL EXECUTE() this will prevent SAS from trying to execute the macro while CALL EXECUTE() is running and instead delay the macro processor from expanding the macro until it pulls the command back from the stack.

call execute ('%nrstr(%abc);') ;

Re: Macro variable not refreshing values

ballardw — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 14:52:06 GMT

@PJ007 wrote:

%macro abc;

proc sql noprint;
select max(anumber) into :maxnum
from table1;
quit;

%mend abc;

%macro import;

%do I=1 %to &totobs. ;
data _null_;
set bcf_directory;
If obs=&i. ;

IF filetype=".csv" THEN call execute ('%abc') ;
run;

%end;
%MEND Import;
%Import;

You might at least indicate where that "table1" data set is expected to change. You do not have anything here that reads or imports(possibly a poor choice for an automated process) a different data set. If you expect the macro %abc to get a different value then the actual table1 has to change. If there is actual import code you need to show where it might be in relationship to the call execute for %abc. There are possibly some timing problems with the stack of instructions call execute is generating. You might consider actually writing the program statements to a text file to examine if they are as expected. If the file looks good then %include that to run the code.

Very little code is so sensitive it can't be shared. Mask sensitive things like constants representing password, users, literal values but hiding actual program logic is not going to get answers directly to your problem.

Re: Macro variable not refreshing values

PJ007 — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 14:53:38 GMT

Thank you so so much! This worked!!