topic unexpected formatted input in SAS Programming

unexpected formatted input

anming — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 16:29:12 GMT

I have a txt file test1.txt: 36 95 (with one space between) and try to load to SAS table through the following codes:

data test2;
infile "/folders/myfolders/test1.txt";
input @1 height 2. 
@4 weight 2.;
run;

but if I miss period in the second format @4 weight 2; the test2 will be 36 2. if change to @4 weight 1, test2 will be 36 7. Looks the result is not expected. Anyway, this is a wrong code.

Re: unexpected formatted input

Reeza — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 16:38:53 GMT

data test2;
infile "/folders/myfolders/test1.txt" dlm = ' ' truncover;
input  height  weight ;
run;

What about something more basic like the following but more specifications on the INFILE statement?

@anming wrote:

I have a txt file test1.txt: 36 95 (with one space between) and try to load to SAS table through the following codes:
data test2;
infile "/folders/myfolders/test1.txt";
input @1 height 2. 
@4 weight 2.;
run;
but if I miss period in the second format @4 weight 2; the test2 will be 36 2. if change to @4 weight 1, test2 will be 36 7. Looks the result is not expected. Anyway, this is a wrong code.

Re: unexpected formatted input

PhilC — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 16:49:07 GMT

I think that when you remove the period then SAS stops recognizing the format but then starts to interpret the number as the column number. It then takes the single digit and places it in weight. I could not replicate getting the "7" using datalines.

data test2;
  infile datalines;
  input @1 height 2. 
        @4 weight 1; *Chnaging this 1,2,3,4,5;
datalines;
36 95
;
run;

replacing:	returns
1	3
2	6
3	.
4	9
5	5

About the unexpectedness: I don't thin this syntax is itself "expected", so being unexpected syntax I'm sure the result is unexpected too.