topic Re: is TODAYDATE() a real function or typo? in SAS Programming

is TODAYDATE() a real function or typo?

Nietzsche — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 04:36:03 GMT

Hi I am reading the specialist prep guide, on page 263, there is a TODAYDATE function, I googled it and can not find any info on it and dismissed it as one of the many errors in the book.

then I saw it again in the official SAS syntax reference guide, along with TODAY and DATE function.

so is like TODAYDATE() a retired function or something or just typo in two official SAS materials?

Re: is TODAYDATE() a real function or typo?

LinusH — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 08:55:13 GMT

Yes, it's either TODAY() or its alias DATE() that you can use.

Re: is TODAYDATE() a real function or typo?

Patrick — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 09:46:49 GMT

The functions are date() or today()

There is no function todaydate() - at least not in a recent SAS version and I also can't remember having it ever used in the past.

SAS is highly backward compatible. If this function ever existed then it must be a looong time/many versions ago.

You can easily test what works just by trying.

Re: is TODAYDATE() a real function or typo?

Nietzsche — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 09:45:36 GMT

well did try, but I wasn't sure it is just a legacy function or something. Since what are the chances of error in two official SAS documents?

Re: is TODAYDATE() a real function or typo?

Patrick — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 09:49:15 GMT

"Since what are the chances of error in two official SAS documents"

Slim - but from the looks of it you found one.

Suggest you raise a SAS Tech Support track so this gets fixed.

Re: is TODAYDATE() a real function or typo?

FreelanceReinh — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 11:02:45 GMT

@Nietzsche wrote:

Since what are the chances of error in two official SAS documents?

The document that you called "official SAS syntax reference guide" is just supplementary material to the SAS Certified Specialist Prep Guide (see https://support.sas.com/en/books.html; there is also an errata document available), most likely created using that book, not independently. Given that there are a number of errata in the book, it's not surprising that the "syntax reference guide" has a few errors, too. Here's another one: In section "Creating User-Defined Formats" it says "LIBRARY=FMTLIB", but FMTLIB is a separate option (not needed for creating formats) of the PROC FORMAT statement and not a typical value of the LIBRARY= option.

Most reliable is the actual SAS documentation.

Re: is TODAYDATE() a real function or typo?

Nietzsche — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 11:24:41 GMT

In section "Creating User-Defined Formats" it says "LIBRARY=FMTLIB", but FMTLIB is a separate option (not needed for creating formats) of the PROC FORMAT statement and not a typical value of the LIBRARY= option.

There is no section called " Creating User-Defined Formats with Variables" in the specialist prep guide. Did you mean " Displaying User-Defined Formats" on page 235?

I just searched entire book, find result did not turn up anything with LIBRARY=FMTLIB. Perhaps you remembered wrong?

Re: is TODAYDATE() a real function or typo?

PaigeMiller — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 11:25:10 GMT

Hello, @Nietzsche you can just try this function in SAS and SAS will tell you whether or not the function exists. No need to ask here in this forum, and SAS will give you much faster answers than this forum.

Re: is TODAYDATE() a real function or typo?

FreelanceReinh — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 12:14:52 GMT

@Nietzsche wrote:

In section "Creating User-Defined Formats" it says "LIBRARY=FMTLIB", but FMTLIB is a separate option (not needed for creating formats) of the PROC FORMAT statement and not a typical value of the LIBRARY= option.

There is no section called " Creating User-Defined Formats with Variables" in the specialist prep guide. Did you mean " Displaying User-Defined Formats" on page 235?

No, I meant the supplementary two-page "Syntax Reference Guide", bottom half of page 1, right column. I don't have the prep guide.