I have a SAS data set with a numeric variable (not date) with values like 20140815. How can I turn this into a SAS date number that I willl eventually want in the format of MMDDYY8. ?
More specifically, the conversion would look like this:
newvar = input(put(oldvar,8.), yymmdd8.);
Then apply any date format you would like. Any of these examples (and more) would be possible:
format newvar date9.;
format newvar yymmdd10.;
format newvar mmddyy8.;
format newvar mmddyys10.;
Experiment, till you find a format that you like.
Good luck.
Use a combination of put() and input() functions.
More specifically, the conversion would look like this:
newvar = input(put(oldvar,8.), yymmdd8.);
Then apply any date format you would like. Any of these examples (and more) would be possible:
format newvar date9.;
format newvar yymmdd10.;
format newvar mmddyy8.;
format newvar mmddyys10.;
Experiment, till you find a format that you like.
Good luck.
Hi Bob, May i request you to please enlighten me on the differences between applying $w. format and just like 8. format without the dollar sign. Also, does applying an x amount of width caters to values less than the number of bytes in the value?
This confuses me big time:(
Sorry for the bother and merry christmas and happy new year to you,
Charlotte
Charlotte,
The $w formats expect to find character strings as the incoming values. Leave out the dollar sign and the software expects a numeric as the incoming value.
If you specify a width that is wider than the numeric value:
newvar = put(12345678, 10.);
You get a leading blank (or as many leading blanks as needed) to fill out the resulting string. Note that the PUT function always returns a character string regardless of whether the format is numeric or character.
When in doubt, experiment. You can always check your results with something like this:
newvar2 = '*' || newvar || '*';
put newvar2=;
People who are trying to learn are never a bother. Merry Christmas to you as well.
This seems simple on the surface but I could not figure it out. This was a GREAT help.
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