topic Re: quotation in SAS Programming

quotation

HeatherNewton — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 13:03:19 GMT

proc sql;
create table curr_util as 
select org, 
acc,
"curr_util" as sum_type,
sum(BAL,PBI_BAL)/LIMIT as sum_value,
from pbi;

what does this quotation mark doing here? why is it required?

Re: quotation

PaigeMiller — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 13:08:41 GMT

For SAS to understand that the programmer means you have a text string, the text string must be in quotes. Otherwise, if you write curr_util without the quotes, SAS thinks that curr_util is the name of a variable.

Re: quotation

Astounding — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 13:10:53 GMT

Quotation marks have the same meaning throughout all applications of the SAS software.

No quotation marks refers to a variable's value. It would mean the value of the variable CURR_UTIL should be the value assigned to the new variable SUM_TYPE.

Quotation marks refers to a set of characters. It would mean the nine characters "curr_util" should be assigned to the new variable SUM_TYPE (same value for every observation).

Re: quotation

ballardw — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 14:00:22 GMT

For many "why" questions I ask the original programmer if possible. Or read any comments.

The result is adding the same literal text to all of the records in a new variable.

When I see a variable containing the value of a data set name like this I suspect that somewhere else this result is combined with some other data and this variable indicates which data set contributed the record.