Strings in SAS are the values which are enclosed with in a pair of single quotes. Also the string variables are declared by adding a space and $ sign at the end of the variable declaration. SAS has many powerful functions to analyze and manipulate strings.

Declaring String Variables

We can declare the string variables and their values as shown below. In the code below we declare two-character variables of lengths 6 and 5. The LENGTH keyword is used for declaring variables without creating multiple observations.

data string_examples;
LENGTH string1 $ 6 String2 $ 5;
/*String variables of length 6 and 5 */
String1 = 'Hello';
String2 = 'World';
Joined_strings =  String1 ||String2 ;
run;
proc print data = string_examples noobs;
run;

On running the above code we get the output which shows the variable names and their values.

String Functions

Below are the examples of some SAS functions which are used frequently.

SUBSTRN

This function extracts a substring using the start and end positions. In case of no end position is mentioned it extracts all the characters till end of the string.

Syntax

SUBSTRN('stringval',p1,p2)

Following is the description of the parameters used −

stringval is the value of the string variable.
p1 is the start position of extraction.
p2 is the final position of extraction.

Example

data string_examples;
LENGTH string1 $ 6 ;
String1 = 'Hello';
sub_string1 = substrn(String1,2,4) ;
/*Extract from position 2 to 4 */
sub_string2 = substrn(String1,3) ;
/*Extract from position 3 onwards */
run;
proc print data = string_examples noobs;
run;

On running the above code, we get the output which shows the result of substrn function.

TRIMN

This function removes the trailing space form a string.

Syntax

TRIMN(‘stringval’)

Following is the description of the parameters used −

stringval is the value of the string variable.

data string_examples;
LENGTH string1 $ 7  ;
String1='Hello  ';
length_string1 = lengthc(String1);
length_trimmed_string = lengthc(TRIMN(String1));
run;
proc print data = string_examples noobs;
run;

On running the above code we get the output which shows the result of TRIMN function.

SAS – Arrays

Arrays in SAS are used to store and retrieve a series of values using an index value. The index represents the location in a reserved memory area.

Syntax

In SAS an array is declared by using the following syntax −

ARRAY ARRAY-NAME(SUBSCRIPT) ($) VARIABLE-LIST ARRAY-VALUES

In the above syntax −

ARRAY is the SAS keyword to declare an array.
ARRAY-NAME is the name of the array which follows the same rule as variable names.
SUBSCRIPT is the number of values the array is going to store.
($) is an optional parameter to be used only if the array is going to store character values.
VARIABLE-LIST is the optional list of variables which are the place holders for array values.
ARRAY-VALUES are the actual values that are stored in the array. They can be declared here or can be read from a file or dataline.

Examples of Array Declaration

Arrays can be declared in many ways using the above syntax. Below are the examples.

# Declare an array of length 5 named AGE with values.

ARRAY AGE[5] (12 18 5 62 44);

# Declare an array of length 5 named COUNTRIES with values starting at index 0.

ARRAY COUNTRIES(0:8) A B C D E F G H I;

# Declare an array of length 5 named QUESTS which contain character values.

ARRAY QUESTS(1:5) $ Q1-Q5;

# Declare an array of required length as per the number of values supplied.

ARRAY ANSWER(*) A1-A100;

Accessing Array Values

The values stored in an array can be accessed by using the print procedure as shown below. After it is declared using one of the above methods, the data is supplied using DATALINES statement.

DATA array_example;

INPUT a1 $ a2 $ a3 $ a4 $ a5 $;

ARRAY colours(5) $ a1-a5;

mix = a1||'+'||a2;

DATALINES;

yello pink orange green blue

;

RUN;

PROC PRINT DATA = array_example;

RUN;

When we execute above code, it produces following result −

Using the OF operator

The OF operator is used when analysing the data forma an Array to perform calculations on the entire row of an array. In the below example we apply the Sum and Mean of values in each row.

DATA array_example_OF;

INPUT A1 A2 A3 A4;

ARRAY A(4) A1-A4;

A_SUM = SUM(OF A(*));

A_MEAN = MEAN(OF A(*));

A_MIN = MIN(OF A(*));

DATALINES;

21 4 52 11

96 25 42 6

;

RUN;

PROC PRINT DATA = array_example_OF;

RUN;

When we execute above code, it produces following result −

Using the IN operator

The value in an array can also be accessed using the IN operator which checks for the presence of a value in the row of the array. In the below example we check for the availability of the colour “Yellow” in the data. This value is case sensitive.

DATA array_in_example;

INPUT A1 $ A2 $ A3 $ A4 $;

ARRAY COLOURS(4) A1-A4;

IF 'yellow' IN COLOURS THEN available = 'Yes';ELSE available = 'No';

DATALINES;

Orange pink violet yellow

;

RUN;

PROC PRINT DATA = array_in_example;

RUN;

When we execute above code, it produces following result −

So, this brings us to the end of blog. This Tecklearn ‘Strings Manipulation and Arrays in SAS’ blog helps you with commonly asked questions if you are looking out for a job in SAS. If you wish to learn SAS and build a career in Data Analytics domain, then check out our interactive, SAS Training for SAS BASE Certification Training, that comes with 24*7 support to guide you throughout your learning period. Please find the link for course details:

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Introduction to SAS

Introduction to SAS
Installation of SAS
SAS windows
Working with data sets
Walk through of SAS windows like output, search, editor etc

SAS Enterprise Guide

How to read and subset the data sets
SET Statement
Infile and Infile Options
SAS Format -Format Vs Informat

SAS Operators and Functions

Using Variables
Defining and using KEEP and DROP statements
Output Statement
Retain Statement
SUM Statement

Advanced SAS Procedures

PROC Import
PROC Print
Data Step Vs Proc
Deep Dive into Proc

Customizing Datasets

SAS Arrays
Useful SAS Functions
PUT/INPUT Functions
Date/Time Functions
Numeric Functions
Character Functions

SAS Format and SAS Graphs

SAS Format statements
Understanding PROC GCHART, various graphs, bar charts: pie, bar

Sorting Techniques

NODUP
NODUKEY
NODUP Vs NODUKEY

Data Transformation Function

Character functions, numeric functions and converting variable type
Use functions in data transformation

Deep Dive into SAS Procedures, Functions and Statements

Find Function
Scan Function
MERGE Statement
BY Statement
Joins
Procedures Vs Function
Where Vs If
What is Missover
NMISS
CMISS

PROC SQL

SELECT statement
Sorting of Data
CASE expression
Other SELECT statement clauses
JOINS and UNIONS

Using SAS Macros

Benefits of SAS Macros
Macro Variables
Macro Code Constituents and Macro Step
Positional Parameters to Macros

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