Difference of Metadata between PROC CONTENTS and PROC SQL with DICTIONARY Library

[FK1]

Hi Everyone,

suppose, I create a dataset "A" which has no colums:

data a;
run;

and another dataset, "B", which has columns:

data b;
set sashelp.class;
run;

Now, when I run PROC CONTENTS with the intention to get information about the datasets, which are located in the WORK-Library - as is also shown in Enterprise Guide:

proc contents data=work._ALL_ out=work.list_of_datasets_proc_contents noprint memtype=data;
run;

, I only get information about dataset "B". The "A" dataset is not listed, even though it is displayed!!

However, when I use PROC SQL with the DICTIONARY-Library:

PROC SQL;
create table list_of_datasets_proc_sql as select *
from dictionary.tables
where upcase(libname) in ("WORK")  and memtype eq "DATA"
order by libname, memname
;
quit;

I get CORRECTLY displayed, that there is also a dataset "A" which has metadata:

Why is this behavior occuring?

Shouldn`t PROC CONTENTS at least also give out the information, that there exists a "A" datset?

Any insights are highly appreceated.

Cheers,

FK1

[Kurt_Bremser · Accepted solution]

The dataset created by PROC CONTENTS is equivalent to DICTIONARY.COLUMNS, and since you do not have any columns ...

If you run CONTENTS without the NOPRINT option, you'll get the tables containing the dataset attributes, but no variable listing for A.

[FK1]

Thank you, Kurt. You nailed it!