how to use select into creating a macro array with numeric value descending

[Geo-]

I am use select into creating a macro array

proc sql;

select numValue into:num_value separated by ' ' from tableA;

quit;

%put %scan(num_value,1);

however,the value in macro num_value  did not arrange their numeric values from its original order（from small to large）.

so how could I arrage their values descending or ascending depending on their index,or the macro array has a same order as the original table is.

thanks!

[Astounding]

SQL doesn't promise the order of anything, except when you use an ORDER BY clause.  And that doesn't apply to macro variables.

You do have the option (if it is appropriate) of adding DISTINCT:

select distinct numvalue into : ..........

DISTINCT forces the order to be ascending.  However, it also removes duplicates which may not be what you want.

[Geo-]

DISTINCT forces the order,and return

start

25.5

33.5

42.5

54.5

98

but when I am using %put %scan(&start_num,1);

it gave me :25

%put %scan(&start_num,2);

return me:533

why and how to fix it?

[Astounding · Accepted solution]

By default, a decimal point is a delimiter for %SCAN.  So you have to specify that a blank is the only delimiter:

%put %scan(&start_num, 1, %str( ));

Also, make sure you have a blank in quotes:  separated by ' '

If you omit the blank, SQL will use 0 characters as the delimiter:  separated by ''