BookmarkSubscribeRSS Feed
amyk
Fluorite | Level 6

I am importing multiple files in a database and I received a file with only headers and zero records. How can I bypass the file if it is empty?

4 REPLIES 4
PGStats
Opal | Level 21

Please explain... If the file is empty, it should contribute 0 records to your database when it is imported.

PG
ChrisNZ
Tourmaline | Level 20

You could test the file before processing:

data _null_;
  call symputx ('file_contains_data',_N_-1);
  infile "%sysfunc(pathname(WORK))\t.txt" obs=2 firstobs=2;  
  input; 
run; 
%put &=file_contains_data;

 

ballardw
Super User

Please show how you are currently importing the non-empty files.

Kurt_Bremser
Super User

I have created three files:

test1.csv:

vara,varb
1,2
3,4

test2.csv:

vara,varb

test3.csv:

vara,varb
5,6
7,8

Importing all files of similar structure in one data step:

data want1;
infile '$HOME/sascommunity/test*.csv' dlm=',' dsd truncover;
input @;
if not index(_infile_,'vara');
input vara varb;
run;

proc print data=want1 noobs;
run;

Result:

vara    varb

  1       2 
  3       4 
  5       6 
  7       8 

The empty file was successfully "skipped".

 

Importing a single file and determining if empty on the fly:

data want2;
infile '$HOME/sascommunity/test2.csv' dlm=',' dsd truncover firstobs=2;
retain count 0;
call symputx('count',count);
input vara varb;
count + 1;
drop count;
run;

%if &count %then %do;
/* further processing of dataset */
%end;

%if not &count %then %do;
%put empty!;
%end;

Log:

27         data want2;
28         infile '$HOME/sascommunity/test2.csv' dlm=',' dsd truncover firstobs=2;
29         retain count 0;
30         call symputx('count',count);
31         input vara varb;
32         count + 1;
33         drop count;
34         run;

NOTE: The infile '$HOME/sascommunity/test2.csv' is:
      Dateiname=/wadaten/home/e9782/sascommunity/test2.csv,
      Besitzername=e9782,Gruppenname=sasadmin,
      Zugriffsberechtigung=-rw-r--r--,
      Zuletzt geändert=07. Dezember 2018 09.42 Uhr,
      Dateigröße (Byte)=10

NOTE: 0 records were read from the infile '$HOME/sascommunity/test2.csv'.
NOTE: The data set WORK.WANT2 has 0 observations and 3 variables.
NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):
      real time           0.04 seconds
      cpu time            0.00 seconds
      

35         
36         %if &count %then %do;
37         /* further processing of dataset */
38         %end;
39         
40         %if not &count %then %do;
41         %put empty!;
empty!
42         %end;

SAS Innovate 2025: Save the Date

 SAS Innovate 2025 is scheduled for May 6-9 in Orlando, FL. Sign up to be first to learn about the agenda and registration!

Save the date!

How to Concatenate Values

Learn how use the CAT functions in SAS to join values from multiple variables into a single value.

Find more tutorials on the SAS Users YouTube channel.

SAS Training: Just a Click Away

 Ready to level-up your skills? Choose your own adventure.

Browse our catalog!

Discussion stats
  • 4 replies
  • 1804 views
  • 0 likes
  • 5 in conversation