Keep only certain observations

[marleeakerson]

I am trying to edit a table down by selecting only the observations with certain entries. I want a table where the only observations are the ones where the variable CODE is equal to 59400, 59410, 59510, 59515, or 59610 .

Here is the code: 

DATA want;
SET have;
if CODE = 
59400 59410 59510 59515 59610
then keep ;
run;

But for some reason I keep getting a table with 0 observations. Does anyone know why this is?

[Reeza]

Assuming the codes are numeric you're looking for IN

ie if code in (59400 59410 59510 ... ) then keep;

if the variables are character the values in the parentheses need to have quotes:

if code in('59400' '59410' ... );

[unison]

There are several ways to do this in SAS. I've listed a few in my code below. My personal favorite is to remove my 'code' list into a custom format (option 3 below) that way it is in one spot in case I ever need to update it.

/*Assuming code is numeric, otherwise encapsulate each code in '' (i.e. '59400' vs. 59400)*/
data have;
	input code;
	datalines;
1
59515
59400
5
59410
59510
;
run;

data desired_output;
	input code;
	datalines;
59515
59400
59410
59510
;
run;

/*Option 1*/
data opt1;
	set have;

	if code in (59400 59410 59510 59515); /*equivalent to: if code in (59400 59410 59510 59515) then output; */
run;

/*Option 2: place in set (where=) -- only reads in observations that match your criteria*/
data opt2;
	set have(where=(code in (59400 59410 59510 59515)));
run;

/*Option 3: remove logic from data step and place in custom format*/
proc format;
	value mycodes
		59400, 59410, 59510, 59515="1"
		other="0"
	;
run;

data opt3a;
	set have;

	if put(code,mycodes.); /*equivalent to: if put(code,mycodes.)="1" then output; */
run;

data opt3b;
	set have(where=(put(code,mycodes.)="1"));
run;

/*Option 4: remove logic from data step and place in macro variable*/
%let mycodes = (59400 59410 59510 59515);

data opt4a;
	set have;

	if code in &mycodes; /*equivalent to: if put(code,mycodes.)=1 then output; */
run;

data opt4b;
	set have(where=(code in &mycodes));
run;

/*Checking that results=desired_results*/
proc compare base=desired_output compare=opt1;
proc compare base=desired_output compare=opt2;
proc compare base=desired_output compare=opt3a;
proc compare base=desired_output compare=opt3b;
proc compare base=desired_output compare=opt4a;
proc compare base=desired_output compare=opt4b;
run;