macrovariable containing the name of another macrovariable

[gamotte]

Hello,

%let X=5;

%let Y=X;

Can I recover the value 5 from the macrovariable Y ?

I thought &&Y.. would do the trick but it resolves to "X."

Thanks

[gamotte]

OK, I have found the answer : add a third ampersand

%put &&&Y..;

5

I just don't understand the logic behind this.

[LinusH]

The macro compiler removes duplicate &, "pairwise". In your case:

&& resolves to &.

&Y resolves to X.

Leaving &X, which resolves to 5.

[gamotte]

Ok, that makes more sense now.

Thanks

[LinusH]

Can be done, how depends on your application.

Simplest:

%let X=5;

%let Y=&X.;