topic Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition in SAS Procedures

SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

PGStats — Fri, 23 May 2014 03:54:40 GMT

Hi, I'm using SAS 9.3 TS1M2 on Windows 7 32bits. The following code

proc format;

picture signPrefix 0 - high = [best10.] (prefix='+');

run;

causes SAS to abort. It runs fine when the picture option is removed.

1) Does it abort other SAS versions?

2) Should the format definition be accepted or result in an error?

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

FriedEgg — Fri, 23 May 2014 04:37:31 GMT

It crashes my instance as well. However, stranger is that fact that if I add another arbitrary format specification before this one, it will work fine.

proc format;

picture foo (default=7) low-high='000.000';

picture signPrefix 0 - high = [best10.] (prefix='+');

run;

Message was edited by: FriedEgg

Forgot to note, I was using 9.3TS1M1 on Windows Server, 64bit

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

Kurt_Bremser — Fri, 23 May 2014 06:33:15 GMT

As soon as SAS terminates without a "normal" error message, it is surely a case for technical support.

FriedEgg's answer makes this look even more like a real bug in the SAS system's code itself (some kind of unitialized var / bad pointer thing).

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

data_null__ — Fri, 23 May 2014 09:06:21 GMT

Crashes my unix 9.3 as well. Prefix is incompatible with range=[format] so it ain't gonna work anyway.

The results below are interesting and I reckon unexpected (but maybe not if you think about the "right" way) as the second prefix is applied to the first range. Does SAS have a leading sign best style format?

proc format cntlout=cntl;
   picture signPrefix  low-<0=' 0.9999999999'(prefix='-') 0-high=[best10.] (prefix='+');
   run; 
data _null_; 
   do i = 1 to 20; 
      x = rannor(334);
      put x= x=signprefix.; 
      end; 
   run; 

x=0.7081713327 x=0.70817133
x=-0.710779582 x=+7107795818
x=-0.045601584 x=+0456015843
x=-1.238536535 x=+1.2385365349
x=0.1009037824 x=0.10090378
x=0.9107126472 x=0.91071265
x=-2.418964018 x=+2.4189640175
x=-0.075013327 x=+0750133265
x=-2.238207142 x=+2.2382071415
x=-0.963393355 x=+9633933546
x=0.3429036945 x=0.34290369
x=0.9882564005 x=0.9882564
x=0.0647758758 x=0.06477588
x=0.1570609235 x=0.15706092
x=0.9190866369 x=0.91908664
x=0.4440814958 x=0.4440815
x=-1.247483514 x=+1.2474835136
x=-0.046558305 x=+0465583050
x=0.2561687776 x=0.25616878
x=0.1763276708 x=0.17632767

I should have used 9 as my first digit selector to print the leading zero and the message character "."

However that illustrates another interesting feature of PICTURE formats.

Message was edited by: data _null_

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

PGStats — Fri, 23 May 2014 15:05:57 GMT

I'll submit a Problem Report as soon as someone confirms that the bug still exists in 9.4.

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

FriedEgg — Fri, 23 May 2014 15:11:56 GMT

I get a similar error if I try to create a format using cntlin (even without a prefix):

data picture;

fmtname='ds';

*default=40;

type='p';

start='';

end='';

label='best10.';

hlo='of';

*prefix='+';

run;

proc format cntlin=picture cntlout=x; run;

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

data_null__ — Fri, 23 May 2014 15:52:11 GMT

This works on my 9.3 unix. But what's the point of PICTURE with no pictures..

How do you make a leading +sign best style format?

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

PGStats — Fri, 23 May 2014 16:25:00 GMT

With FCMP I guess:

proc fcmp outlib=sasuser.fcmp.formats;

function signPrefix(x) $32;

if x > 0 then return(cats("+",x));

else return (cats(x));

endsub;

run;

options cmplib=sasuser.fcmp;

proc format;

value signPrefix (default=13 min=13) other=[signPrefix()];

run;

data _null_;

do x = -125.32, ., -0.001234, 0, 0.000123456, 123, 12346768.123455676;

put x= x=signPrefix.;

end;

run;

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

PGStats — Fri, 23 May 2014 16:36:20 GMT

Please, some 9.4 pioneer, run the test ! - - PG

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

FriedEgg — Fri, 23 May 2014 16:45:56 GMT

I have been holding off until the 9.4M2 release (supposedly in July), since 9.4 will also require I update to RHEL6, which is why I have been putting it off.

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

Peter_C — Fri, 23 May 2014 17:27:14 GMT

SAS9.4 on Win7-64

1 proc format;

2 picture signPrefix 0 - high = [best10.] (prefix='+');

ERROR: PICTURE options NOEDIT, FILL=, PREFIX=, and MULT= cannot be used with formats-as-labels or functions-as-labels.

NOTE: The previous statement has been deleted.

3 run;

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

Reeza — Fri, 23 May 2014 17:35:29 GMT

We just upgraded to 9.3 so 9.4 is a long way off for us

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

PGStats — Fri, 23 May 2014 17:36:44 GMT

Thanks . The problem seems to be fixed in 9.4. - PG

Re: SAS aborts on PICTURE format definition

Peter_C — Fri, 23 May 2014 17:41:53 GMT

'tis a pity there is no way a picture provides "floating" decimals