I'm stumped - how do I copy a dataset within the same library and give the copy a new name?    Copying it to another library, renaming it, then moving it back works.....but I can't figure out how to do this entirely within the original library. I don't always have a "spare" library handy...and prefer to keep the original timestamp etc. intact hence wanting to use PROC DATASETS or PROC COPY.  ... View more

As part of a larger process, I need to scan a text file for a string. To do this, I'm using a macro I found online (sorry, can't remember where). I need assistance modifying it so that the two parameters can contain special characters.   Here is the macro: %macro CheckFileForString(FilenameAndPath=, SearchString=); %local SearchResult filrf rc fid c; %let SearchResult = 0; /* default unless the string is found */ %let filrf=srcf; %let rc=%sysfunc(filename(filrf, &FilenameAndPath)); %let fid=%sysfunc(fopen(&filrf)); %if &fid > 0 %then %do; /* if the file reference exists (can be opened) */ %do %while(%sysfunc(fread(&fid))=0); /* while file is still returning contents (until end) */ /* read portion of the file into the file data buffer */ /* the position of the file pointer is updated after the read */ /* operation so successive fread functions read successive file records */ %let rc=%sysfunc(fget(&fid, charvar)); /* copy characters from file data buffer into a variable */ /* blanks are are implicit delimiters */ %if %index(%superq(charvar), &SearchString) %then %do;/* test the character variable */ %let SearchResult=1; /* set the return code */ %GOTO exit; %end; %end; %exit: %let rc=%sysfunc(fclose(&fid)); %end; %let rc=%sysfunc(filename(filrf)); &SearchResult %mend CheckFileForString; ...and here is an example which fails. In this case, I'm scanning a config file for a specific parameter. It happens to be in XML format but that's not something I need to concern myself with....I just need to see if it has the string somewhere. %LET FILE_LOCATION = %STR(C:\Program Files (x86)\Program Name\file.with.multiple.periods); %IF %CheckFileForString(FilenameAndPath = &FILE_LOCATION , SearchString = '<parameter>value</parameter>') = 1 %THEN do something     Any assistance would be appreciated! ... View more

I have two datasets which need to be “combined” in a certain way that goes beyond a simple join/merge.   One dataset represents a roadway network consisting of links connected by nodes. Below is a representation of a roadway that splits at a “Y” intersection. A driver on link 100 can continue onto link 101 or 201. 101 is a dead-end, but 201 connects to 202, which connects to 203. The dataset is tens of thousands of rows. LINK_ID FROM_NODE TO_NODE LINK_TOTAL_LENGTH 100 1 2 1.1 101 2 3 0.8 201 2 90 0.2 202 90 91 0.4 203 91 92 1.0     The other dataset represents points on the roadway network. These will serve as starting points for trips. Here is one record that indicates a starting point 0.3 units into the link. This dataset is a few thousand rows. START_POINT_ID LINK_ID DISTANCE_INTO_LINK 10001 100 0.3     My target deliverable is a third table that lists all links within a certain distance of the starting point. In this case, the distance is 1.5 units. I will need to do a bit of math to calculate the last three columns, in between each iteration. START_POINT_ID LINK_ID START_POSITION_ON_LINK END_POSITION_ON_LINK CUMULATIVE_DISTANCE 10001 100 0.3 1.1 0.8 10001 101 0.0 0.7 1.5 10001 201 0.0 0.2 1.0 10001 202 0.0 0.4 1.4 10001 203 0.1 0.1 1.5     Conceptually simple, but I’m not sure of the best way to code this. The logical approach is to just perform datastep merges over and over (using a macro) to keep finding the next LINK(s) based on matching the nodes, until the cumulative distance reaches the specified distance (1.5 units), then start over for the next START_POINT_ID. But that requires a lot of overhead.   Is this "iterative conditional lookup" something that could be done within a single datastep?   Thanks! ... View more