SAS Tip: Table lookup operations are fast with the Hash object

[SAS_Tipster]

A hash object permits table lookup operations to be performed considerably faster than other available methods found in the SAS system. Unlike a DATA step merge or PROC SQL join where the SAS system repeatedly accesses the contents of a table stored on disk to perform table lookup operations, a hash object reads the contents of a data set into memory once allowing the SAS system to repeatedly access it, as necessary.

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Thanks to Kirk Paul Lafler for this tip. Read more details in this paper from WUSS 2017: A Hands-on Introduction to SAS DATA Step Hash Programming Techniques.