Converts BMDP, OSIRIS, and SPSS system files to SAS data sets
The CONVERT procedure converts BMDP, OSIRIS,
and SPSS system files to SAS data sets.
PROC CONVERT produces one output data set, but no printed
output. The new data set contains the same information as the input system
file; exceptions are noted under How Variable Names Are Assigned.
The procedure converts system files from these packages:
- BMDP save files through and including the most
recent version of BMDP.
- SPSS save files through and including Release
9, along with SPSS-X and the SPSS Portable File Format.
- OSIRIS files through and including OSIRIS IV (hierarchical
file structures are not supported).
These software packages are products of other organizations.
Changes, therefore, can be made that make new system files incompatible with
the current version of PROC CONVERT. SAS Institute cannot be responsible
for upgrading PROC CONVERT to support changes to the packages listed previously;
however, attempts will be made to do so as necessary with each new release
of SAS.
For the PROC CONVERT
statement, options can be
from any of those in the options list presented later in this section. Only
one of the options specifying a system file (BMDP, OSIRIS, or SPSS) can be
included. Usually, only the PROC CONVERT statement is used, although data
set attributes can be controlled by specifying the DROP=, KEEP=, or RENAME=
data set options with the OUT= option in this procedure. Refer to
SAS Language Reference: Dictionary for more information about
these data set options. You can also use the LABEL and FORMAT statements following
the PROC CONVERT statement.
In the following descriptions, fileref
is the logical name that you associate with a permanent filename by issuing
a SAS FILENAME statement. For example, the following SAS statement associates
the logical name BMDPFILE with the CMS file BMDP SAVEFILE A. After defining fileref, use it in your program to reference the permanent filename.
filename bmdpfile 'bmdp savefile a';
Instead of a fileref, you can use a libref if you reference
the correct engine (BMDP, SPSS, or OSIRIS) in the LIBNAME statement. For example,
you can use the following LIBNAME statement to assign a libref to BMDP SAVEFILE
A:
libname bmdpfile bmdp 'bmdp savefile a';
You can use the following options with the PROC CONVERT
statement:
-
BMDP=fileref |libref
<(CODE=code-id CONTENT= content-type )>
- specifies the logical name of a BMDP save
file. By default, the first save file in the data set is converted. If you
have more than one save file in the data set, you can use two additional options
in parentheses after the logical name. The CODE= option lets you specify the
code of the save file that you want, and the CONTENT= option lets you give
the save file's content. For example, if a file CODE=JUDGES has CONTENT=DATA,
you can use this statement:
proc convert bmdp=save(code=judges content=data);
-
DICT=fileref |libref
- specifies the logical name of a data set
containing the dictionary file for the OSIRIS data set. The OSIRIS= option
must be specified if you use the DICT= option.
-
FIRSTOBS=n
- gives the number of the observation where
the conversion is to begin. This option enables you to skip observations at
the beginning of the BMDP, OSIRIS, or SPSS system file.
-
OBS=n
- specifies the number of the last observation
to be converted. This option enables you to exclude observations at the end
of the file.
-
OSIRIS=fileref
|libref
- specifies a logical name for a data set
containing an OSIRIS file. You must also include the DICT= option, described
earlier, when you use the OSIRIS= option.
-
OUT=SAS-data-set
- names the SAS data set created to hold the
converted data. If the OUT= option is omitted, SAS still creates a WORK data
set and automatically names it DATAn, just as if you omitted
a data set name in a DATA statement. If it is the first such data set in a
job or session, SAS names it DATA1; the second is DATA2, and so on. If the
OUT= option is omitted or if you do not specify a two-level name in the OUT=
option, the data set converted to SAS format is not permanently saved. See Handling Space in the WORK Library
for more information.
- SPSS=fileref |libref
- specifies a logical name for a data set
containing an SPSS file. The SPSS file can be in any of three formats: SPSS
Release 9 (or prior), SPSS-X format (whose originating operating environment
is OS/390, CMS, or VSE), or Portable File Format from any operating environment.
If a numeric variable in the input data
set has no value or a system missing value, PROC CONVERT assigns it a missing
value.
The following sections explain how names
are assigned to the SAS variables created by the CONVERT procedure.
- CAUTION:
- Be sure that the translated names are unique.
![[cautionend]](../common/images/cautend.gif)
Variable names
are translated as indicated in the following
sections.
Variable
names from the BMDP save file are used in the SAS data set, except that nontrailing
blanks and all special characters are converted to underscores in the SAS
variable names. The subscript in BMDP variable names, such as x(1), becomes
part of the SAS variable name, with the parentheses omitted: X1. Alphabetic
BMDP variables become SAS character variables of length 4. Category records
from BMDP are not accepted.
For
single-response variables, the V1 through V9999 name becomes the SAS variable
name. For multiple-response variables, the suffix Rn is added
to the variable name, when n is the response, for example, V25R1
is the first response of the multiple-response variable V25. If the variable
after V1000 has 100 or more responses, responses above 99 are eliminated.
Numeric variables that OSIRIS stores in character, fixed-point binary, or
floating-point binary mode become SAS numeric variables. Alphabetic variables
become SAS character variables; any alphabetic variable of length greater
than 200 is truncated to 200. The OSIRIS variable description becomes a SAS
variable label, and OSIRIS print format information becomes a SAS format.
SPSS
variable names and variable labels become variable names and labels without
change. SPSS alphabetic variables become SAS character variables of length
4. SPSS blank values are converted to SAS missing values. SPSS print formats
become SAS formats, and the SPSS default precision of no decimal places becomes
part of the variable's formats. The SPSS DOCUMENT data are copied so that
the CONTENTS procedure can display them. SPSS value labels are not
copied.
Copyright 1999 by SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved.
