topic Re: How to get count of total records in a table in SAS Enterprise Guide

How to get count of total records in a table

deleted_user — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:17:31 GMT

Is there a simple way to get a count of the total number of records in a table, perhaps when using Proc SQL?

Thanks in advance....looking forward to your replies!

Re: How to get count of total records in a table

MohamedS — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 14:06:07 GMT

Hi,

You can use the function:

select count(*) as countrec from tablename;

within your proc sql.

If the table is a SAS dataset, it has its size in the header and is accessible with the NOBS= option:

%macro get_table_size(inset,macvar);
 data _null_;
  set &inset NOBS=size;
  call symput("&macvar",size);
 stop;
 run;
%mend;

This method takes O(k) time (that is constant time) and doesn't require scanning through the table, O(n), to count the records. Use it like this:

%let reccount=;
%get_table_size(sashelp.cars,reccount);
%put &=reccount;

Re: How to get count of total records in a table

deleted_user — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:24:03 GMT

If the table is a SAS dataset, it has its size in the header and is accessible with the NOBS= option:

%macro get_table_size(inset,macvar);

data _null_;
set &inset NOBS=size;
call symput("&macvar",size);
stop;
run;
quit;

%mend;

This method takes O(k) time (that is constant time) and doesn't require scanning through the table, O(n), to count the records.

To make the macro more robust, you would want to add a conditional wrapper:

%if %sysfunc(exist(&inset)) %then %do;

and then have some appropriate %else %do; for when the &inset doesn't "exist".

I'm not sure if there is a generic way to distinguish a permanent SAS dataset from a database table. I don't know if NOBS= will work for a database (Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Access, SQL Server, MySQL, etc. ). Message was edited by: Chuck

Re: How to get count of total records in a table

deleted_user — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:50:27 GMT

Mohamed,

Thanks for your reply! That worked for what I wanted to know about my dataset.

Re: How to get count of total records in a table

deleted_user — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:51:10 GMT

Chuck,

Interesting.... and thank you for the information. I'll put that to good use as time progresses.

Re: How to get count of total records in a table

deleted_user — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:40:32 GMT

in proc sql, you could also go against a table's metadata in dictionary.tables to get the nobs in a data set:
proc sql;
select nobs
from dictionary.tables
where libname eq 'SASHELP'
and memname eq 'ZIPCODE';
quit;

this approach avoids actually reading the data set. if you're looking at a very large table, this can save lots of time; if you're accessing a remote library, it should also save time. this only appears to work for sas data sets and not for databases (sql, mysql, oracle, etc).

i've also been unsuccessful with my attempts to access the view sashelp.vtable:
data _null_;
set sashelp.vtable;
where libname eq 'SASHELP'
and memname eq 'ZIPCODE';
put nobs;
run;

Re: How to get count of total records in a table

deleted_user — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:12:41 GMT

And thank you also, Richard. So many ways to do the same thing!

Re: How to get count of total records in a table

deleted_user — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:21:33 GMT

I have no knowledge of macros, so I would like to know how to use the get_table_size macro.

If I have a data step:

data new_table;
set old_table;

run;

is it possible to call the macro in the same data step and assign the new_table number of rows to a variable nRows.

I would like to see the macro call:

nRows=%get_table_size( ?, ? ); /* Something like that? */

Re: How to get count of total records in a table

RichardH_sas — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:53:57 GMT

Since this is an EG forum, I'll mention that in EG you can right-click on a table and see the number of rows under Properties in the General pane. If it's a DMBS table and not a SAS data set, by default this will say unknown. You can change that under Tools \ Options \ Data General then check "Always obtain the total record count for DBMS tables". There could be performance issues with this, FYI, which is why it's not checked by default.

Re: How to get count of total records in a table

deleted_user — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:12:00 GMT

Chuck,
on a more basic level, what does the "&macvar" stand for? is this the name of the new variable you are creating which contains the total # of records?

thanks,
abc

Re: How to get count of total records in a table

Peter_C — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:46:01 GMT

for sas information about a table in a dbms, see corresponding rows in sashelp.vmember and sashelp.vviews.
However, each dbms has its database information files equivalent to dictionary.tables. these probably could advise number of rows and columns (last time stats were collected). these resources are database dependant.

PeterC