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BEST

Numeric
Width range:	1- 32
Default width:	12
Alignment:	right
CMS specifics:	minimum and maximum values

w

specifies the field width of the output value.

Details

When a format is not specified, the SAS System chooses the notation that gives the most precision and information about the value that fits into the number of columns available. Numbers are interpreted using the EBCDIC character-encoding system, with one digit per byte.

Under CMS, acceptable values can range from 5.398E-79 to 7.237E+75. Any number outside this range causes an overflow error. The following table illustrates the use of the BEST format.

Decimal Number		Format	EBCDIC Data Pattern Written	Actual NumericValue
1234		best6.	'4040F1F2F3F4'x	1234
-1234		best6.	'4060F1F2F3F4'x	-1234
12.34		best6.	'40F1F24BF3F4'x	12.34
123456789		best6.	'F14BF2F3C5F8'x	1.23E8
123456789		best8.	'F14BF2F3F4F6C5F8'x	1.2346E8

Note:   

• '40'x=blank

• 'F1'x=1, 'F2'x=2, and so on

• '4B'x=decimal point

• 'C5'x=E

• '4E'x=plus sign

• '60'x=minus sign.

• SAS Language Reference: Dictionary

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