topic Re: Convert macro variable to datetime in SAS Programming

Convert macro variable to datetime

shubham1 — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 10:17:10 GMT

I have below macro variable

%let x=2019-10-31 00:00:00.447000;

This macro variable is having a value as character .i want it to convert to numeric 26

How can i do that ?

Re: Convert macro variable to datetime

ed_sas_member — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 10:35:55 GMT

Hi @shubham1 ,

Something like this?

%let x= %sysfunc(inputn(2019-10-31 00:00:00.447000, ymddttm24.));
%put &x;

Result: 1888099200.447

Re: Convert macro variable to datetime

shubham1 — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 10:45:45 GMT

I think output is wrong

it is not coming as 2019-10-31 00:00:00.447000 .I want value to be numeric as 2019-10-31 00:00:00.447000

Re: Convert macro variable to datetime

ed_sas_member — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 10:53:54 GMT

Hi @shubham1

Macro variables are strings. They have no type (numeric / character).

All datetimes values are stored as numbers by SAS. If you want to use them for further calculation, you need to get those numbers.

2019-10-31 00:00:00.447000 is not a valid numeric value.

Re: Convert macro variable to datetime

PaigeMiller — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 11:29:31 GMT

@shubham1 wrote:

I think output is wrong

it is not coming as 2019-10-31 00:00:00.447000 .I want value to be numeric as 2019-10-31 00:00:00.447000

The result from @ed_sas_member of 1888099200.447 is correct. SAS considers date/times to be the number of seconds since midnight January 1, 1960, so that is how your date/time is represented in SAS. You can optionally format it so that it looks like an actual date/time to humans when they see it, but internally it needs to be 1888099200.447. You need to adjust your thinking so that you can use date/times properly in SAS. Any comparison of date/time values must be done numerically, rather than by a text string.

Re: Convert macro variable to datetime

shubham1 — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 11:39:08 GMT

there was something wrong I did at my end sorry for that your solution is working

Re: Convert macro variable to datetime

ed_sas_member — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 13:01:35 GMT

Hi @shubham1
Great to hear that!
Could you please mark the topic as answer so that it can be available to the whole community?