How to make MEMNAME work with macro variable?

[EinarRoed]

I've got some code that's being reused by 5 SAS-scripts that's running in parallel. Each of the 5 scripts have a prefix-macro that's used in the reusable code, to make sure that work table names are unique.

Example: The 1st SAS-script sets %let prefix = cust, and the 2nd sets %let prefix = prod. Then the reusable code uses a work table called &prefix._temp.

This fails because MEMNAME doesn't accept the prefix-macro:

data _null_;
	set sashelp.vcolumn end=eof;
	where libname = 'WORK' and lowcase(memname) = '&prefix._temp';
run;

If I use this it works:

data _null_;
	set sashelp.vcolumn end=eof;
	where libname = 'WORK' and lowcase(memname) = 'cust_temp';
run;

Is there a way to make MEMNAME work with my prefixes? If I type the prefix manually it's no longer reusable.

[japelin · Accepted solution]

try change from

'&prefix._temp';

to

"&prefix._temp";

Single quotation marks do not resolve macros, while double quotation marks do.

[EinarRoed]

Ugh, I should've remembered. Thanks. 🙂