I know that ODS output has some data step capabilities such as keep, drop, and rename. Is it also possible to create a new variable/column using ODS output without having to use a data step?
It is no more possible to generate a new variable using ODS output than it is possible to generate a new column of values in, say, the ODS HTML or ODS LISTING results. After all ODS OUTPUT is meant to redirect results of a given procedure.
Sadly no.
To be pedantic, you can specify data set options on the output data set name in an ODS OUTPUT statement, just as you can in data set names elsewhere (including the DATA step). There are not any DATA step capabilities in the ODS OUTPUT statement. Out of curiosity, what do you want the ODS OUTPUT statement to do that it does not already do? What is the problem with writing a DATA step? As you are developing code (and presumably making mistakes) do you really want to submit the PROC step over and over instead of a small, fast, simple, DATA step?
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