Dear all,
I have table A with two variables RET_VAR and CODE having values as shown below:
RET_VAR CODE Blue 345V Green 678V Orange 546V White 879V Black 234V Yellow 987V Purple 234V
and a table B with many variables Var(i) with names:
Black Blue Brown Gray Green Maroon Olive Orange Pink Purple Silver White Yellow 3.456,00 4.792,20 5.901,60 6.784,20 7.440,00 7.869,00 8.071,20 8.046,60 7.795,20 7.317,00 9.362,80 2.314,00 3.906,20 5.634,00 5.067,00 4.500,00 3.933,00 3.366,00 2.799,00 2.232,00 1.665,00 1.098,00 531,00 2.345,00 1.778,00 1.211,00 4.758,00 4.191,00 3.624,00 3.057,00 2.490,00 1.923,00 1.356,00 789,00 222,00 6.532,00 5.965,00 5.398,00 4.831,00
I need to rename the variables in table B that are ONLY included in table A with the values of variable CODE in table A.
Any suggestions would be welcomed.
Thank you
Note that those are awkward SAS variable names so you'll need to refer to them as '345V'n in future usage.
Perhaps a label may be a better approach?
This will change the names.
proc sql;
create table change_list as
select * from tableA
where upper(ret_var) in (select trim(upper(name)) from sashelp.vcolumn where libname='WORK' and memname='TABLEB');
quit;
data _null_;
set change_list end=eof;
if _n_ = 1 then
call execute ('proc datasets lib=work nodetails nolist; modify TableB; rename ');
call execute (catt(ret_var, ' = ', nliteral(code)));
call execute (' ');
if eof then call execute(';run; quit;');
run;
To create labels instead, change the word rename to LABEL and remove the NLITERAL function. If you're trying to export the data or have it in a report, labels are easier to work with.
data _null_;
set change_list end=eof;
if _n_ = 1 then
call execute ('proc datasets lib=work nodetails nolist; modify TableB; label ');
call execute (catt(ret_var, ' = ', code));
call execute (' ');
if eof then call execute(';run; quit;');
run;
Please post the expected output and data in usable form.
Black an Purple have the same value, so renaming won't work and as @Reeza already said, using names like "234V" forces you to use the hardly readable '234V'n all the time => you don't want this.
Note that those are awkward SAS variable names so you'll need to refer to them as '345V'n in future usage.
Perhaps a label may be a better approach?
This will change the names.
proc sql;
create table change_list as
select * from tableA
where upper(ret_var) in (select trim(upper(name)) from sashelp.vcolumn where libname='WORK' and memname='TABLEB');
quit;
data _null_;
set change_list end=eof;
if _n_ = 1 then
call execute ('proc datasets lib=work nodetails nolist; modify TableB; rename ');
call execute (catt(ret_var, ' = ', nliteral(code)));
call execute (' ');
if eof then call execute(';run; quit;');
run;
To create labels instead, change the word rename to LABEL and remove the NLITERAL function. If you're trying to export the data or have it in a report, labels are easier to work with.
data _null_;
set change_list end=eof;
if _n_ = 1 then
call execute ('proc datasets lib=work nodetails nolist; modify TableB; label ');
call execute (catt(ret_var, ' = ', code));
call execute (' ');
if eof then call execute(';run; quit;');
run;
SAS Innovate 2025 is scheduled for May 6-9 in Orlando, FL. Sign up to be first to learn about the agenda and registration!
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.
Ready to level-up your skills? Choose your own adventure.