topic Read all dataset in a library and store its proc content output in multiple csv files in SAS Programming

Read all dataset in a library and store its proc content output in multiple csv files

sAura — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 05:36:23 GMT

Hi All,

I need to create a csv file for each of the dataset present under a library, having the data of proc content output of each dataset.

A macro will solve this, i am able to get the list the dataset with:

proc sql;
create table columns as
select distinct(memname) as table_name
from dictionary.columns
where libname = 'WRK'
;
quit;

but how to proceed to read all the file names and fetch them to generate a csv having their proc contents is what i am stuck with...

Thanks in advance!!

Re: Read all dataset in a library and store its proc content output in multiple csv files

Kurt_Bremser — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 05:47:31 GMT

You're probably better off reading the metadata from sashelp.vtable and sashelp.vcolumn.

Re: Read all dataset in a library and store its proc content output in multiple csv files

sAura — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 06:23:24 GMT

Reading the metadata is not the issue, but reading it and putting it into a csv file as a loop for all the dataset within a library is the issue. A separate csv file needs to be created for the metadata of each dataset

Re: Read all dataset in a library and store its proc content output in multiple csv files

Kurt_Bremser — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 06:49:02 GMT

When you read from the sashelp tables, you can specify the filevar= option in the file statement and then dynamically assign the output filename from the table name in the input dataset. This way you can do everything in a single data step.

data _null_;
set sashelp.vcolumn (where=(libname="YOURLIB"));
by memname;
if first.memname then outfilename = '$HOME/desc_' !! trim(memname) !! '.csv';
file "dummy.dat" filevar=outfilename dlm=',';
put name type length;
run;

Re: Read all dataset in a library and store its proc content output in multiple csv files

sAura — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 07:38:50 GMT

Hi Kurt

Thanks for the resolution, but file creation is giving me an error:
1140 file "dummy.dat" filevar=outfilename dlm=',' ;
ERROR: A Physical file reference (i.e. "PHYSICAL FILE REFERENCE" ) or an aggregate file
storage reference (i.e. AGGREGATE(MEMBER) ) reference cannot be used with the FILEVAR=
option.

seems some limitation for the filevar value, is there a way to overcome this.

Re: Read all dataset in a library and store its proc content output in multiple csv files

Kurt_Bremser — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 07:43:58 GMT

Ups, missed to correct that before posting.

Should be

file dummy filevar=outfilename dlm=',';