Debugging a Macro with SAS System Options

The SAS System offers users a number of useful system options to help debug macro issues and 

 problems. The results associated with using macro options are automatically displayed on the SAS  Log.
Specific options related to macro debugging appear in alphabetical order in the following table.

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Useful Printer System Options

If your printout in the SAS session begins with page 256, it reveals the number of times you ran the program before printing. Reset the beginning page number before your final run.

To reset the page number, the code is:

options pageno=1;  

To set orientation and paper size:

options orientation="landscape"; 

options orientation="portrait"; 

options papersize="legal";  

To remove page breaks and put dashes (-) across the page:

options formdlim="-"; 

To reinstall page breaks (there is no space between the quotes):

options formdlim=""; 

To left justify output:

options nocenter; 

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Debugging Complex Macros

It’s possible to write code generated by macros to an external file. The file can’t be access until the SAS session has ended. In SAS 6.12 you use the options RESERVEDB1 & MPRINT to achieve this. In version 8 you need to use the options MFILE & MPRINT. 

You then also need to define a fileref for MPRINT, to which the generated SAS code is written. 

filename mprint 'c:\macro.sas' ; 

This technique is very useful for complex macros with many loops and multiple ampersands since you can see the code that is generated. You can then run the code generated through data step debugger to resolve any problems or understand what is happening.

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Specifying the most recently created data set to use in a read operation

By default, the _LAST_= system option is set to use the most recently created data set. This automatic feature is commonly found in procedure code when the DATA= option is omitted from a PROC.

 To override this built-in default, the _LAST_= system option can be defined as any valid temporary or permanent SAS data set name (refer to data set naming conventions).

The _LAST_= option can be specified in an OPTIONS statement, in the OPTIONS window, at SAS invocation, or in the configuration file.  

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Writing SAS source files included with a %INCLUDE statement to the SAS Log

By default, SAS source statements included with a %INCLUDE statement are NOT automatically written to the SAS Log. To print secondary SAS source statements included with a %INCLUDE statements, users will need to specify the SOURCE2 system option. 

The default setting is NOSOURCE2. Either option can be specified in an OPTIONS statement, in the OPTIONS window, at SAS invocation, or in the configuration file.  

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Preventing SAS data sets from accidentally being replaced

Users can specify the NOREPLACE system option to prevent a permanent SAS data set from being accidentally replaced with another like-named data set. Conversely, by specifying the REPLACE system option like-named data sets can be overwritten.

The REPLACE | NOREPLACE option can be specified in an OPTIONS statement, in the OPTIONS window, at SAS invocation, or in the configuration file.  

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SAS Utility: Drop the Variable if it’s Data is Missing

Drop any variable (Num/Char), if its data is missing in all of the observations…..

%macro DropMissingVars(DS=);
data _null_;
set &ds. (obs=1);
array num_vars[*] _NUMERIC_;
array char_vars[*] _CHARACTER_;
call symputx(‘num_qty’, dim(num_vars));
call symputx(‘char_qty’, dim(char_vars));
run;

data _null_;
set &ds. end=finished;

array num_vars[*] _NUMERIC_;
array char_vars[*] _CHARACTER_;

array num_miss [&num_qty] $ (&num_qty * ‘missing’);
array char_miss [&char_qty] $ (&char_qty * ‘missing’);

length list $ 50;

do i=1 to dim(num_vars);
if num_vars(i) ne . then num_miss(i)=’non-miss’;
end;
do i=1 to dim(char_vars);
if char_vars(i) ne ” then char_miss(i)=’non-miss’;
end;

if finished then do;
do i= 1 to dim(num_vars);
if num_miss(i) = ‘missing’ then list=trim(list)||’ ‘||trim(vname(num_vars(i)));
end;
do i= 1 to dim(char_vars);
if char_miss(i) = ‘missing’ then list=trim(list)||’ ‘||trim(vname(char_vars(i)));
end;
call symput(‘mlist’,list);
end;
run;

data &ds;
set &ds;
drop &mlist;
quit;

%mend DropMissingVars;
%DropMissingVars(DS=work.test);

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Report Formatting: SKIP=

By default , all printed reports donot skip any lines at the top of the page.

Change this with the SKIP=n global  option.

OPTIONS SKIP=5;

TITLE"This Title will start on line5 of the page, not line1";

PROC PRINT DATA=sashelp.class;

RUN;

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Report Formatting: Remove Page Breaks

To stop SAS from issuing page breaks between pages of a reports,set the FORMDLIM option equal to a quoted blank.

OPTIONS FORMDLIM='';

PROC PRINT DATA=SOFTSALE;

RUN;

PROC FREQ DATA=SOFTSALE;

RUN;

FORMDLIM=''  removes all page breaks.

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Data Step Tip: COMPBL Function

To take extra blanks out of a variable  (character), use the COMPBL function.

Example:

                                  BIGNAME="MARY  JANE                SMITH"

                                   SMALLER=COMPBL(BIGNAME);

Resulting in:

                                                  "MARY JANE SMITH"

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Data Step Tip: Alignment Option

Analignment specification can be coded in the PUT statement.

Code-L,-C,or-R after the format.

Example:

124 DATA _NULL_;

125 SET NAMES;

126 PUT @1 NAME $30. -C;

127 RUN;

KATIE

TERESA

STEVE

ANN

NOTE: There were 4 observations read from the data set WORK.NAMES.

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Data Step Tip: Trailing @ For Efficiency

Use the trailing "@" with input statements to avoid inputting records you wish to eliminate.

 Instead of: 

DATA MIDWEST;

INFILE ACCOUNTS;

INPUT @1 NAME $19.

@20 STATE $2.

@24 ACCTNBR $10.

@35 BALANCE 8.;

IF STATE IN ('WI','MN','IA');

RUN;

Better:

DATA MIDWEST;

INFILE ACCOUNTS;

INPUT @20 STATE $2. @;

IF STATE IN ('WI','MN','IA') THEN

INPUT @1 NAME $19.

@24 ACCTNBR $10.

@35 BALANCE 8.;

RUN;

• More Efficient

• Different Layouts in One File

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Data Step Tip: Input @ ‘TEXT’

Using INPUT @ ' text' positions the input pointer directly after the word 'text'.

DATA NAMES;

LENGTH NAME CITY $10 ;

INPUT @1 NAME @ 'CITY=' CITY  AGE ;

DATALINES;

ABC CITY=BGLR 25

DEFGH CITY=HYD 30

IJKLMNO CITY=BGLR 28

PQRS CITY=HYD 26

;

RUN;

PROC PRINT DATA=NAMES;

RUN;;

output

Obs    NAME     CITY    AGE

1     ABC             BGLR     25

2     DEFGH        HYD       30

3     IJKLMNO    BGLR     28

4     PQRS            HYD      26

If the text is not found, the pointer will go to a new line

DATA NAMES;

LENGTH NAME CITY $10 ;

INPUT @1 NAME @ 'CITY=' CITY  AGE ;

DATALINES;

ABC CITY=BGLR 25

DEFGH CITY=HYD 30

IJKLMNO  BGLR 28

PQRS CITY=HYD 26

;

;

RUN;

PROC PRINT DATA=NAMES;

RUN;

output

Obs    NAME     CITY    AGE

1     ABC             BGLR     25

2     DEFGH        HYD       30

3    PQRS            HYD      26

in above example IJKLMNO is  missing because the string CITY=  

not found,so the pointer will go to a new line.

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PC SAS SHORTCUTS

When you are working on PC SAS there are many helpful keyboard shortcuts available at your disposal. For example when you need to comment or un-comment blocks of code, you can save time by using the shortcut instead of typing it all yourself. Or when you are trying to find the matching pair in a set of brackets, simply using the shortcut means that you will not need to spend the time searching yourself. 

These actions can be performed with ease by pressing a few buttons on the keyboard. The following table shows some of the shortcuts available to use:

Action	Keyboard Shortcut
Convert highlighted text to upper case	Ctrl Shift U
Convert highlighted text to lower case	Ctrl Shift L
Comment highlighted text	Ctrl /
Uncomment highlighted text	Ctrl Shift /
Collapse all sections of code	Ctrl Alt – (on number pad)
Expand all sections of code	Ctrl Alt + (on number pad)
Move cursor to matching bracket	Ctrl (
Move cursor to matching DO or END statement	Alt [

The full list of available shortcuts can be accessed through the menu:
Tools -> Options -> Enhanced Editor Keys

This will show a list of all commands that have a keyboard shortcut assigned to them, along with a brief description of what the command will do.

Ticking the box Show all commands will then also show the commands that have not been assigned any shortcuts yet. These can then be set yourself if you want to use any. For example here are some of the unused commands which can be set a shortcut:

• Convert highlighted text to opposite case
• Insert current date and time
• Delete line
• Repeat the current line
• Remove trailing white space from end of lines

The Assign keys… button can be used to set a shortcut or to change an existing shortcut.

Personally I find switching text to upper/lower case and commenting/un-commenting code to be especially useful and a good time saver.

CONCLUSION 

These tips are all easy to learn, quick to use and great to share with other programmers. I would recommend trying these out to see if they can help you in your day to daySAS Programming



For More Click here

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HOW TO ACCESS SPECIAL CHARACTERS IN SAS

There may be times when you need a specific character used in your outputs, for example superscripts or trade mark symbols in a footnote, but cannot see these directly on your keyboard. These characters and many more are all accessible for use in your SAS programs. 

This table shows some of the special characters available to use, along with their corresponding byte number in SAS and a description.

Byte(i)	Symbol	Description
153	™	Trademark sign
169	©	Copyright sign
170	ª	Superscript a
174	®	Registered trademark sign
176	°	Degree symbol
177	±	Plus or minus sign
178	²	Superscript 2 / squared
179	³	Superscript 3 / cubed
185	¹	Superscript 1
188	¼	One quarter
189	½	Half
190	¾	Three quarters
247	÷	Division sign

The full list of characters can be seen by running the following code. This will create a dataset with a variable containing each special character and a variable with each respective byte number in SAS.

data check;

  do i=1 to 255;

    sq=byte(i);

    output;

  end;

run;

Once you know which character you want in your program, then you can use %let to create a macro variable of it. For example the following code will create a macro variable for the superscript a symbol:

%let supa=%sysfunc(byte(170));

If you want to check this has worked properly, then use %put to write the value of this macro variable to the log:

%put &supa;

The macro variable can then be inserted into your program. For example the following is standard proc report code for creating a table, but using this macro variable to create a superscript value in the footnote. The highlighted code shows where the macro variable is used.

proc report data=final nowd headline headskip split=' | ' ps=23formchar(2)='_';

  column ('__' pdcdl col1 ord1 ord2);

  define pdcdl / left  '  ' width=60;

  define col1 / center 'DrugA|6 mg SC';

  define ord1 / order noprint;

  define ord2 / order noprint;

  title 'Table 14-1.3 Summary of Important Protocol Deviations';

  compute after _page_;

    line @13 72*"_";

    line @2 ' ';

    line @14 "&supa Other than Treatment Compliance/Test Article Administration";

    line @14 'Note: Deviation categories are not mutually exclusive';

  endcomp;

  break after ord1 / skip;

run;

This will create the following output. The highlighted part shows what the footnote looks like from inserting the special character into it.

As you can see in the example, it is a simple process to find out the byte number of the desired special character and then use it in your program.

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