topic Re: is RUN statement necessary? in SAS Programming

is RUN statement necessary?

marcuswong — Sun, 04 Oct 2020 15:31:28 GMT

Hi Members,

I am using SAS studio for learning and I submitted the below program and SAS run without any problem.

data test1;
set sashelp.cars;
keep make model type origin;

data test2;
set sashelp.shoes;

proc print data=test2;

So my question is, what is the usefulness or necessity of the run statement when my program is able to run smoothly even with any run statements?

Re: is RUN statement necessary?

PaigeMiller — Sun, 04 Oct 2020 15:41:46 GMT

It is good programming practice. In some situations, a RUN; is required. Just because it isn't needed in this situation, it is needed in other situations. So get in the habit, you will avoid future problems.

But really, let's not debate this, it is good programming practice, so just do it for that reason. It is also good programming practice to place indentation in your code, as explained elsewhere in Maxim 12. Just do it.

Re: is RUN statement necessary?

Kurt_Bremser — Sun, 04 Oct 2020 15:54:12 GMT

Consider it good practice.

See this:

data class;
set sashelp.class;
call symputx('count',_n_);

proc print data=class;

Now, insert a %put for debugging:

data class;
set sashelp.class;
call symputx('count',_n_);

%put &count.;

proc print data=class;

Re: is RUN statement necessary?

Tom — Sun, 04 Oct 2020 17:03:27 GMT

The RUN statement let's SAS know when the code for the current step is finished (or for interactive procs when the current run group is finished.) Without that SAS will have to figure out that you were done with the code for the current step. It knows you are done when it either sees the start of the next step or the end of the file. Note that SAS/Studio will add code after your code that will include a RUN statement so the last step will run even though your SAS session is still open.

There are a lot of ways you can confuse yourself about what your code means (you can't confuse the SAS compiler). Being sure to explicitly include the RUN statement (or QUIT statement for procedures that need that) will make it so you don't get confused about which statements are part of which step. Or in the case of macro statements (like %PUT and %LET) and global statements (like TITLE and FOOTNOTE) whether they are run between two steps.

Re: is RUN statement necessary?

ChrisNZ — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 01:51:29 GMT

SAS added a run statement is this "ran without any problem".

The last step (proc print here) would not run if not terminated by a run statement, as SAS has no way of knowing the step is finished and you want it to run.

Re: is RUN statement necessary?

Dritan007 — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 05:31:24 GMT

If a RUN or QUIT statement is not used at the end of a step, SAS assumes that the beginning of a new step implies the end of the previous step.

If a RUN or QUIT statement is not used at the end of the last step in a program, SAS Studio and SAS Enterprise Guide automatically submit a RUN and QUIT statement after the submitted code.

The RUN statement is not required between steps in a SAS program. However, it is a best practice to use a RUN statement because it can make the SAS program easier to read and the SAS log easier to understand when debugging.

Re: is RUN statement necessary?

marcuswong — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 23:47:37 GMT

@PaigeMiller @ChrisNZ @Tom @Kurt_Bremser @Dritan007

Is there a way to disable the auto run statement in SAS studio?

I want to convince myself that the last proc print step in the below program will not run:

data test1;
set sashelp.cars;
keep make model type origin;

data test2;
set sashelp.shoes;

proc print data=test2;

Re: is RUN statement necessary?

Tom — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 00:15:13 GMT

There is an ICON on the code editor window named GO INTERACTIVE.

Re: is RUN statement necessary?

marcuswong — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 13:46:34 GMT

@Tom I'm totally confused now.

I login SAS studio, click go-interactive ,

write this one liner code: proc print data=sashelp.cars;

first click of running man no print results.

second click of running man there is print result.

Re: is RUN statement necessary?

Tom — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 14:04:24 GMT

Sounds right to me. So first you submitted:

proc print data=sashelp.cars;

So SAS is waiting for you to finish speaking before it gives you an answer.

Then you submitted:

proc print data=sashelp.cars;

And now SAS sees the new PROC starting so it runs the first one. And it is still waiting for you to finish the second proc.

Try now submitting:

  var make model;
run;

And see what you get. Compare it to the output of the first PROC PRINT.

Re: is RUN statement necessary?

marcuswong — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 15:42:56 GMT

@PaigeMiller @ChrisNZ @Tom @KurtBremser @Dritan007

Thank you for the guidance!