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kuridisanjeev
Quartz | Level 8

Hi All..

Is there any any difference between Card and Dataline  Statements ????

Please Clarify me...

Thanks & Regards..

Sanjeev.K

21 REPLIES 21
data_null__
Jade | Level 19

Only the spelling.

kuridisanjeev
Quartz | Level 8

Thanks for your detailed explanation..:-)

ballardw
Super User

I wouldn't put a big bet on it but I believe in ancient days, SAS 5 perhaps, CARDS meant 80 column input to simulate punch cards, hence the name.

kuridisanjeev
Quartz | Level 8

Hi..

Did't get you completely...

Regards..

Sanjeev.K

art297
Opal | Level 21

: I think it started WAY earlier than that!  I seem to recall that being the same syntax that was used in the Statistical Analysis System out of North Carolina State University.

But we've progressed!  Now we get to type 9 characters, rather than 5, to specify "cards".

TomKari
Onyx | Level 15

From my trusty SAS 1979 manual (I believe the last time that all of SAS fit into one book), CARDS and CARDS4 statements only, no DATALINES.

I remember reading once that if I wanted to use an infile statement to provide options (I frequently use dlm='09'x for tab delimited), I had to use datalines NOT cards. But I just ran a test, and cards works on an infile statement also, so I guess this assumption is out of date (like I'm beginning to feel!).

Tom

art297
Opal | Level 21

: Do you want to feel young?  My first computer program looked like the one in this picture:

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://lewisshepherd.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/ibm-402-plugboar...

TomKari
Onyx | Level 15

I doff my chapeau to you sir! We studied them in school, but I will bow down and admit I've never used one, nor have I ever seen one.

Extremely cool!

  Tom

art297
Opal | Level 21

: Somehow I think the IBM 402 accounting boards must be where the term spaghetti code originated.

ajuhack
Fluorite | Level 6

Actually datalines is an alias of cards and vice-versa as per sas documentation.....

Wolfen244
Calcite | Level 5

Tom,

 

>>...SAS 1979 manual...all of SAS fit into one book...

 

I had Gayle Sayers autograph mine as I only had that at hand when I was working at Hitachi in Brisbane, Ca. He asked me what the book was and after I told him he just smiled and said, "Okay".

bnarang
Calcite | Level 5

Your sense of humour is great. Smiley Happy

art297
Opal | Level 21

: Apparently, if you are using an older version of SAS, there may be one difference.

The following 2007 SGF paper, by last year's SGF chair (Andy Kuligowski) http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/forum2007/220-2007.pdf, describes a case where one worked while the other didn't:

data _null_;

  set sashelp.class;

  file cards;

  put name;

run;

data _null_;

  set sashelp.class;

  file datalines;

  put name;

run;

However, this is one case where SAS decided not to insure that code working on one version would continue to work on the next version.  With 9.3 both of the above will result in an error.

data_null__
Jade | Level 19

I guess my verion of 9.3 is a little different from your.  I get the Kuligowski result.  It is interesting to see what SAS says the name of the file is.

29         data _null_;
30            set sashelp.class;
31            file datalines filename=fname;
32            put fname=;
33            put name;
34            stop;
35            datalines;

fname=CARDS
Alfred
NOTE: There were
1 observations read from the data set SASHELP.CLASS.

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