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The DATA step processes input data. In a DATA step, you can create a SAS data set, which can be a SAS data file or a SAS data view. The DATA step uses input from raw data, remote access, assignment statements, or SAS data sets. The DATA step can, for example, compute values, select specific input records for processing, and use conditional logic. The output from the DATA step can be of several types, such as a SAS data set or a report. You can also write data to the SAS log or to an external data file. For more information about DATA step processing, see "DATA Step Processing" in DATA Step Processing.
DATA Step Output |
SAS log | contains a list of processing messages and program errors. The SAS log is produced by default. | ||||
SAS data file | is a SAS data set that contains two parts: a data portion and a data descriptor portion. | ||||
SAS data view | is a SAS data set that uses descriptor information and data from other files. SAS data views allow you to dynamically combine data from various sources without using disk space to create a new data set. While a SAS data file actually contains data values, SAS data views contain only references to data stored elsewhere. SAS data views are of member type VIEW. In most cases, you can use a SAS data view as though it were a SAS data file. | ||||
External data file | contains the results of DATA step processing. These files are data or text files. The data can be records that are formatted or free-formatted. | ||||
Report | contains the results of DATA step
processing. Although you usually generate a report by using a PROC step, you
can generate the following two types of reports from the DATA step:
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