I've noticed that the sort can slightly alter results of a proc means, even if the data is exactly the same. Has anyone else experienced this? I've bypassed the issue by just rounding everything prior to formatting my results from a proc means output, but I'm very curious to know why SAS's internal processors can give different results based on rounding. Test data below to explain what I mean. (Using SAS 9.4) * Data set sorted by month, year, pressure;
data test1;
set sashelp.enso;
proc sort;
by month year pressure;
run;
* Same data set sorted by pressure, month, year;
data test2;
set sashelp.enso;
proc sort;
by pressure month year;
run;
* Proc Means;
proc means data = test1 noprint;
var year;
output n = XN1 mean = XMEAN1 std = XSTD1 out = _result1;
run;
* Proc Means;
proc means data = test2 noprint;
var year;
output n = XN1 mean = XMEAN1 std = XSTD1 out = _result2;
run;
** compare **;
proc compare base=_result1 compare=_result2;
run;
** standardized output **;
data _check1;length display $15;
set _result1;
display=strip(put(XMEAN1,10.2));
run;
data _check2;length display $15;
set _result2;
display=strip(put(XMEAN1,10.2));
run;
** compare **;
proc compare base=_check1 compare=_check2;
run;
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