Scan across array and count into new column

[A_Swoosh]

Hi all,

I'm attempting to find a specific string across several columns and count the number of times this string appears and then place that count as a new variable. Would this be a use of an array and scan function? Or would this perhaps be something like a count function? Any guidance would be appreciated.

Data NewData;

input state $ county $ storeid_1 $ storeid_2 $ storeid_3 $ storeid_4 $ storeid_5 $;
cards;
01 001 123,Chain 124,Chain 125,Mom&Pop 126,Mom&Pop 127,Chain
01 002 111,Chain 112,Chain 113,Chain 114,Mom&Pop 115,Chain
01 003 101,Chain 102,Chain 103,Chain 104,Chain 105,Chain
;
run;

Data want;

input state $ county $ storeid_1 $ storeid_2 $ storeid_3 $ storeid_4 $ storeid_5 $ num_store_chain num_store_mp;
cards;
01 001 123,Chain 124,Chain 125,Mom&Pop 126,Mom&Pop 127,Chain 3 2
01 002 111,Chain 112,Chain 113,Chain 114,Mom&Pop 115,Chain 4 1
01 003 101,Chain 102,Chain 103,Chain 104,Chain 105,Chain 5 0
;
run;

[Tom · Accepted solution]

That is exactly what the COUNT() function does.  Just use the CATS() function to convert your set of variables into a single string.

data want ;
  input state $ county $ (storeid_1-storeid_5) (:$15.) ;
  nchain = count(cats(of storeid_1-storeid_5),'Chain');
  nmp  = count(cats(of storeid_1-storeid_5),'Mom&Pop');
cards;
01 001 123,Chain 124,Chain 125,Mom&Pop 126,Mom&Pop 127,Chain
01 002 111,Chain 112,Chain 113,Chain 114,Mom&Pop 115,Chain
01 003 101,Chain 102,Chain 103,Chain 104,Chain 105,Chain
;