Understanding and Using Functions

Frank C. DiIorio
Advanced Integrated Manufacturing Solutions, Co.
Durham NC

Introduction
Lets start by admitting that programmers are, at heart,
rather lazy. We want procedures to do our sorting, printing, and analysis. We want formats to display the number
5 as Well above average. In essence, we dont want to
code any more statements than we have to. With that in
mind, lets look at another code and time-saving feature of
the SAS System.
This paper gives an overview of functions, a powerful set
of tools in the SAS System. Functions are a set of predefined routines that come with the SAS System. They perform a wide range of activities, and often reduce complex
computations that would require arduous and error-prone
DATA step coding to a single, simple statement. Not even
a novice SAS programmers toolbox is complete without a
basic knowledge of system functions.
This paper introduces SAS novices to functions. Basic
terminology is reviewed first, followed by usage issues
common to nearly all functions. The last section of the
paper describes the purpose and syntax of some of the
more commonly used functions. Bear in mind that this paper is simply an overview of a broad and sometimes complex topic. The reader should consult SAS Institute documentation for the definitive, exhaustive description of the
purpose, limitations, and uses of the functions.

Fundamentals
The logic thats common to all functions is straightforward. Two components of function syntax the function
name and its parameters identify what is to be performed. The first component is the function name. It
identifies the action that the function performs identify
the minimum of a list of numbers (the MIN function), locate the third word in a character variable (the SCAN
function), and so on. The name usually gives some idea of
the activities performed by the function.
The second function component is a list of parameters
(sometimes referred to as arguments) enclosed in parentheses. Notice in the above description of the function
names we said minimum of a list and third word in a
character variable. The of and in identify what the
function should operate on. Putting these two pieces together, lets look at two complete uses of these functions:
min_year = min(fy2001q1, fy2001q2,
fy2001q3);
file_name = scan(dir_line, 3, );

The first statement creates the numeric variable

MIN_YEAR, which is the minimum of three arguments,
fy2001q1, fy2001q2, and fy2001q3. The second statement
creates a character variable, FILE_NAME, which is the

third piece of variable DIR_LINE, the pieces being delimited by blanks.

The functions are said to be called in the first statement, we called the MIN function, in the second, we called
the SCAN function. Functions are said to return a value
in the first statement, we call the MIN function and it
returns a value, stored in MIN_YEAR, that is the minimum of the three arguments passed to it.
Both the idea and the syntax are simple specify the appropriate function name and give the function parameters
and results are returned. Just as procedures perform a
great deal of work with relatively few statements, so do
functions simplify potentially tedious calculations. Before
looking at what specific functions do, lets look at some
logical and syntactical issues common to all of them.

Syntax and Usage

Before using this paper or the SAS documentations description of the many available functions, consider the
following points carefully:
Functions Can Be Used Pretty Much Anywhere. Functions usually perform some form of calculation, and calculations are usually considered in the context of the
DATA step. Keep in mind that, with some documented
exceptions, functions can be used anywhere an evaluation
of constants and/or variables can take place.
Here are some non-DATA step examples. Look at them
more for their use outside the DATA step than for the actual operation they perform:
proc print data=subset
(where=(index(vin, NR) > 0));
proc freq data=mast01;
tables grp / missing;
where nmiss(of fy1999q1fy2001q4) > 2;

Names Matter (Gotcha #1). There are specific names for

specific function activities. These cannot be reassigned
(changing MIN to MINIMUM, for example). What you
can do, and probably wont want to, once you see the result, is define an array with the same name as a function.
Watch what happens:
data phase1;
set master;
array min(4); /* each groups minimum */
do i = 1 to 4;
min(i) = min(of group1-group4);
end;

SAS gets confused is MIN a reference to the function or

the array? The default action is to recognize MIN as an
array, effectively disabling the MIN function. The following message is printed in the SAS Log:

WARNING: An array is being defined with the

same name as a SAS-supplied or user-defined
function. Parenthesized references involving
this name will be treated as array references and not function references.

Bottom line: there are lots of words in the language. Define arrays with names that dont conflict with function
names.
Names Matter (Gotcha #2). Programmers new to SAS,
or those regularly moving back and forth between SAS and
other languages, must be careful not to assume that function x in one language does the same thing in another language. Dont make assumptions. Read the documentation
carefully, and be sure the functionality is identical.
If you need motivation in this regard, consider the subtle
difference in this example: the TRIM function is in
EXCEL and SAS, and performs basically the same activity
(trimming blanks from a character variable). In EXCEL,
both leading and trailing blanks are trimmed, but SAS
trims only the trailing blanks. Its usually easier to review
documentation for the functions than it is to debug their
unadvised usage.
Look at Data Types Carefully. Some functions require
numeric arguments, others require character arguments.
Yet others require a mix of these data types. The type(s)
of the argument(s) does not influence the value returned by
the function. The LENGTH function, for example, returns
the location of the last non-blank character in a variable.
The function requires a character argument but returns a
numeric value.
The Number of Arguments Varies. The number of arguments required by a function will, of course, depend on
the type of work the function performs. Even using the
same function, though, the number of arguments can vary.
MIN and other descriptive statistic functions can handle a
varying number of arguments, provided there are enough
values to perform the required task (you need at least three
arguments to calculate skewness, for example). Other
functions expect n arguments and will make assumptions
if they do not receive the full n the third argument to
the SUBSTR function, for example, is the number of positions to extract from a character variable. If omitted from
the SUBSTR call, the default behavior is to subset to the
rightmost position in the variable.
Parameter Order May Matter. Some functions do not
care about the order in which arguments are specified. The
SUM function, for example, performs an action (addition)
that is, by nature, indifferent to order. Other functions are
not so forgiving, and assign specific meanings to arguments. The first argument to the ROUND function, for
example, is a numeric value. The second argument is the
rounding unit (round to the nearest ). SAS is often
unable to detect misspecified parameters because they may
make syntactical sense but do not have logical validity.
Consider the following statements:
inc1 = round(income, 1000);
inc2 = round(1000, income);

INC1 is variable INCOME rounded to the nearest 1000,

while INC2 is 1000 rounded to the nearest INCOME.

Both statements are syntactically valid, but only INC1
makes sense. Its important to realize that from SAS perspective, both statements are acceptable. Its up to the
programmer to become familiar with parameter order and
meaning (and then, of course, follow through and write the
statement correctly!).
Watch Out for Range Restrictions. Some functions will
process any values, provided their data types are correct.
Others require one or all values to be in a range of values.
The restriction may be known prior to coding (the square
root function SQRT cannot process a negative value),
while other limits are imposed by the nature of the operation (you cannot use SUBSTR to go beyond the length of a
character variable). In all cases, if you specify one or more
invalid arguments, SAS will issue a message in the Log
and the function will return a missing value. Suppose we
specify this statement:
rounded = round(rate, rate_factor);

If RATE_FACTOR is a missing value or negative,

ROUNDED will be set to missing, and the SAS Log will
contain a message similar to:
NOTE: Argument 2 to function ROUND at line
1449 column 11 is invalid.

Missing Values Sometimes Matter. Missing values in

one or more arguments may influence the value returned
by the function. If we specify a missing value where we
should have entered the starting location of a substring,
then SAS will display an error message and the function
will return a missing value.
Other functions are not as fussy. Most descriptive statistic
functions SUM, MEAN, RANGE, and the like will operate on any non-missing arguments. This is an important
distinction, since a simple assignment statement not using
functions will create a missing value if any of its operands
is missing. Examine the following code:
q1 = 300; q2 = 350; q3 = 250;
year_tot_1 = q1 + q2 + q3 + q4;
year_tot_2 = sum(of q1-q4);

q4 = .;

The first assignment statement has a form which requires

all operands to be numeric and non-missing. Since Q4 is
missing, the result, YEAR_TOT_1, will be missing. The
second assignment uses the SUM function. Its parameters
match the operands of the previous statement, but it returns
a value because the function uses only non-missing values.
YEAR_TOT_2 is 900. The impact of missing values is
significant here and in other statistical functions.
Here, as in the points noted above, we emphasize the need
to carefully review the functions documentation prior to
writing the program.
Specify Character Variable Lengths. If the function is
returning a character variable, specify the length of the
variable to avoid unanticipated padding. In this example,
variable QUOTED is length 200, regardless of the length
of TEXT.
data revised;
set temp2;

code, code, and more code

quoted = quote(text);
run;

Adding a LENGTH statement to the program brings

QUOTED to a more reasonable length (TEXTs length
assume $20 plus two positions for quotes):
data revised;
set temp2;
length quoted $22;
quoted = quote(text);
run;

Parameter Specification Can Vary Greatly. Arguments

to most functions can be constants, variables, or expressions (including other function calls). In general, the
function will accept a value as long as the specification
results in a value that is appropriate. Here are some examples. As before, look at them for style rather than exact
meaning:
small_pair = min(min(c1,c2), min(d1,d2));
piece = substr(line, 1, length(line) 3);
tot = sub + reg + sum(ot1, ot2, ot3);

The first two statements are examples of functions being

used as arguments to other functions. This is commonly
referred to as nesting. The statements are concise, but
bear in mind the difficulty of debugging them. What is the
minimum of C1 and C2? Of D1 and D2? With the statement written as is, you cant tell. It may be easier in the
long run to break up the statement:
min_c = min(c1, c2);
min_d = min(d1, d2);
small_pair = min(min_c, min_d);

Finally, remember that SAS will do its best to reduce each

argument to its simplest form. This behavior is predictable, but can lead to unexpected results if only casually
recalled. Consider this code fragment:
v1 = 3; v2 = 4; v3 = 10;
max_v = max(v1-v4);

v4 = 6;

Looking at the assignment statements, you would expect

the value of MAX_V to be 10. Instead, it is 3. Why?
Because SAS will resolve the argument before it is passed
to the function. Instead of seeing a list V1 through V4
SAS sees an arithmetic expression V1 minus V4.
Thus only 3 minus 6, or 3, is passed to the MAX function
and 3, by definition, is the maximum, since no other parameters are available for evaluation. Fortunately, MAX
and other statistical functions have a way to specify V1-V4
as a list, rather than an expression. It is shown below and
also noted in the last sections description of various functions:
max_v = max(of v1-v4);

Functions Can Be Used On the Fly. The previous

points examples hinted at a powerful capability of using
functions within SAS. Rather than store a function result
in a variable, its possible to make it transient, available
only for purposes of evaluation and not for storage as a
variable. Here we show the ability to use functions in decision-making statements.
if index(line, .txt) > 0 then do;
code, code, and more code
select (quarter(start_date));
when (1) do;

CALL Routines Are Close Cousins of Functions. A

separate set of routines, called CALL routines (for obvious
reasons that well soon see) are equivalent in spirit, if not
syntax, to functions. The idea is the same as functions
create a value by passing a certain number of parameters
of a certain data type in a certain order. The principal difference is in their invocation, as shown in the examples
below:
call label(var_names(i), label_text);
if eof then call symput
(count, put(_nread, 3.));

Functions would return a transient, on the fly value or

have their value stored in a variable. By contrast, CALL
routines typically specify operands and results in the parameter list.
For the purposes of this paper, CALL routines and functions are treated identically. Their syntactical differences
and distinctions are clearly highlighted in SAS documentation.

Commonly-Used Functions
A complete list of functions, grouped by category, is found
in the Appendix. This section takes a closer look at some
of the more commonly used functions and gives examples
of their use. The order and category names correspond to
the SAS Online Doc. Yet again refer to SAS Institute
documentation for a description of parameters and other
usage notes.
Category/Name Description and example of usage
array
dim
Number of elements in an array.
do i = 1 to dim(list);
character
compbl
Removes consecutive blanks from a string.
old = much extra space;
new = compbl(old);
NEW becomes much extra space
compress
Removes characters from a string.
old = Chapel Hill, NC 27516;
new1 = compress(old);
new2 = compress(old, ,-);
NEW1 becomes ChapelHill,NC-27516
NEW2 becomes Chapel Hill NC 27516
You could use COMPBL on NEW2 to remove
consecutive blanks.
index
Gives the starting position of a string within a
string.
string = \temp\examples1.sas;
loc1 = index(string, .sas);
loc2 = index(string, .SAS);
loc3 = index(upcase(string), .SAS);
LOC1 equals 1, LOC2 equals 0 (not found), LOC3
equals 16
left
Left-aligns a string
old = leading blanks;
new = left(old);
NEW equals leading blanks
length
Returns the length (rightmost non-blank character)
of a string.
length old $40;
old = Short;
len = length(old);

Category/Name Description and example of usage

LEN equals 5.
lowcase
Lower-cases a string.
old = Mixed Case;
new = lowcase(old);
NEW equals mixed case
quote
Encloses a string in double quotes.
old = WUNC; /* Length of OLD = 10 */
length new $12; /* +2 to allow for quotes */
new = quote(WUNC);
NEW equals WUNC
/* quotes are part of the
value */
repeat
Repeats a string n times.
old = dog;
new = repeat(old, 4);
NEW equals dogdogdogdogdog Remember to
set a length for NEW!
reverse
Reverses a string.
old = Looks OK;
new = reverse(old);
NEW equals KO skooL
right
Right justifies a string.
old = Cats and Dogs; /* OLD is $15 */
new = right(old);
NEW equals Cats and Dogs
scan
Scans a string for a character expression (word)
using a default or user-specified word.
old = temp\filexxx.dat;
new1 = scan(old, 1);
new2 = scan(old, 2, .\);
new3 = scan(old, -1, .\);
NEW1 equals temp\filexxx
NEW2 equals filexxx
NEW3 equals dat
substr
Extracts or replaces a portion of a string.
old = Chapel Hill NC 27516;
new = substr(old, length(old)-4);
NEW equals 27516

translate

tranwrd

upcase

date and time

date
datetime

day /
month /
year
hour /
minute /
second

old = J*V87;
if substr(old, 2, 1) = * then do;
Changes all occurrences of one character in a
string to another.
old = Line1*Line2*Line3;
new = translate(old, /, *);
NEW equals Line1/Line2/Line3
Similar to TRANSLATE, but at the word level.
Parameter order is different (from-to, rather than
to-from!)
old = Mrs. Smith;
new = tranwrd(old, Mrs., Sra.);
NEW equals Sra. Smith
Upper-cases a string.
old = Mixed Case;
new = upcase(old);
NEW equals MIXED CASE
Returns the current date as a SAS date value
today = date()
TODAY is 15138 (June 12, 2001 if formatted)
Returns the current date-time as a SAS datetime
value.
rightnow =datetime();
RIGHTNOW is 1307985980.7
(12JUN2001:17:26:21 if formatted)
Extract the day, month, and year numbers from a
SAS date value.
curr_day = day(today());
CURR_DAY equals 12 if today is June 12, 2001.
Extracts the hour, minute, and second from a SAS
time value.
curr_hr = hour(onset);
CURR_HR equals 7 if ONSET is 7:04.

Category/Name Description and example of usage

intck
Returns the number of intervals between two
dates, times, or date-times.
qtr=intck('qtr','01jan2001'd,'01dec2001'd);
QTR equals 3
intnx
Advances a date, time, or date-time by a specified
interval.
yr=intnx('year','15mar99'd,2);
YR equals 14976 (01JAN01 if formatted)
mdy
Creates a SAS date value from user-specified
month, day, and year.
sas_date = mdy(1, 1, 2001);
SAS_DATE is 14976
time /
Return the current time and date. Note that these
today
functions do not require parameters. The parentheses are necessary for SAS to make the distinction between the function call to DATE and TIME
and variables of the same name.
curr_time = time();
curr_date = date();
CURR_TIME is 63666.44 (17:41 if formatted)
CURR_DATE is 15138 (June 12, 2001 if formatted)
descriptive statistics
all functions
See Appendix A for details.
The function names correspond to statistics available in the MEANS procedure.
General form of usage is:
function_name(arg1, arg2, )
function_name(OF base1-baseN)
For example:
tot = sum(ne, se, nw, sc, pc, mw);
tot = sum(of r1-r5);
tot = sum(of r1-r5, intl);
macro
symput

symget

math
abs

fact
log /
log10 /
log2
mod

CALL routine
if eof then call symput(goodones, put(_n,3.));
Macro variable GOODONES contains the value of
variable _N.
Retrieves the value of a macro variable.
status = symget(stat);
DATA step variable STATUS equals the value of
macro variable STAT.
Returns the absolute value of a numeric variable.
old = -3;
new = abs(old);
NEW equals 3
Returns the factorial of an integer.
fact = fact(5);
FACT equals 120
Return the natural, base 10, and base 2 logarithms of a positive number.
Returns the remainder of a division.
old = 100;
new1 = mod(old, 10);
new2 = mod(old, 8);
NEW1 equals 0 (no remainder)
NEW2 equals 4 (4 left over when 100 is divided by
8)

random number
rannor /
As CALL routines, they return random variates
ranuni
from normal and uniform distributions.
call ranuni(-1);
rannor /
As functions, they return random variates from
ranuni
normal and uniform distributions. The CALL routines greater control over seed values.
call rannor(-1);
special
system
CALL routine, it submits a host operating system
command for execution.

Category/Name Description and example of usage

call system(dir p:\qc\meas\*.txt /s >
c:\temp\dir.txt);
Creates text file c:\temp\dir.txt, which contains the
output from a directory command.
input
Allows a character variable to be read using standard SAS informats. This is a way to convert
character values to numeric.
char_date = 2001/08/19;
num_date = input(char_date, yymmdd10.);
NUM_DATE has a numeric data type, with a value
of 15206.
put
The reverse of INPUT, it writes formatted character or numeric variables to a target character variable.
sales_c = put(sales, dollar8.) || - ||
put(sales, salefmt.);
User-written format SALEFMT might result in a
SALES_C value such as 120,300 Time to buy a
Lexus!
system
Issues an operating system command and captures its return code.
rc = system(cd t:\prod\rpts\graphs);
state and ZIP code
Converts FIPS codes to state names and postal
FIPNAME /
FIPSTATE /
codes.
fip_state = 37;
name = fipname(fip_state);
postal = fipstate(fip_state);
NAME equals NORTH CAROLINA
POSTAL equals NC
STFIPS /
Converts state postal codes to FIPS codes and
STNAME
state names.
postal = NC;
name = stname(postal);
postal = stfips(postal);
NAME equals NORTH CAROLINA
POSTAL equals NC
ZIPFIPS /
Converts ZIP codes to FIPS codes, state names,
ZIPNAME /
and state postal codes.
ZIPSTATE
zip = 27516;
name = zipname(zip);
postal = zipfips(zip);
fips = zipfips(zip);
NAME equals NORTH CAROLINA
POSTAL equals NC
FIPS = 37;
truncation
ceil
Rounds up to the nearest integer.
old = 2.3;
new = ceil(old);
NEW equals 3.
floor
Rounds down to the nearest integer.
old = 2.3;
new = ceil(old);
NEW equals 2.
int
Returns the integer portion of a number.
old = -8.9;
new = int(old);
NEW equals 8.
round
Rounds to the nearest rounding unit (default
rounding unit is 1).
old = 100.53;
new1 = round(old);
new2 = round(old, .1);
NEW1 equals 101
NEW2 equals 100.5
variable control
label
CALL routine, it returns the value of a variables
label.
label old = Olds nondescript label;
call label(old, label_value);
LABEL_VALUE equals Olds nondescript label

Category/Name Description and example of usage

vname
CALL routine, it returns the name of a variable.
length name $32;
array temp(*) st-block;
do i = 1 to dim(temp);
call vname(temp(i), name);
put name=;
end;
This code writes the name of each element in
TEMP.

Questions? Comments?
Your feedback is always welcome. Contact the author at
[email protected].

Appendix A: Functions and CALL Routines

by Category
The table in this appendix is taken directly from the Version 8.0 SAS Online Doc. It gives an idea of the power
and versatility of the functions and CALL routines that
come with the SAS System. For details, of course, refer to
the specific help file or other SAS documentation.
Array
DIM
HBOUND
LBOUND

Returns the number of elements in an array

Returns the upper bound of an array
Returns the lower bound of an array

BAND
BLSHIFT
BNOT
BOR
BRSHIFT
BXOR

Bitwise Logical Operations

Returns the bitwise logical AND of two arguments
Returns the bitwise logical left shift of two arguments
Returns the bitwise logical NOT of an argument
Returns the bitwise logical OR of two arguments
Returns the bitwise logical right shift of two arguments
Returns the bitwise logical EXCLUSIVE OR of two arguments
Character String Matching

CALL RXCHANGE Changes one or more substrings that match a pattern

CALL RXFREE
Frees memory allocated by other regular expression (RX) functions
and CALL routines
CALL RXSUBSTR Finds the position, length, and score of a substring that matches a
pattern
RXMATCH
Finds the beginning of a substring that matches a pattern and returns a value
RXPARSE
Parses a pattern and returns a value

Character
BYTE
COLLATE
COMPBL
COMPRESS
DEQUOTE
INDEX
INDEXC
INDEXW
LEFT
LENGTH
LOWCASE
MISSING
QUOTE
RANK
REPEAT
REVERSE
RIGHT
SCAN
SOUNDEX
SPEDIS
SUBSTR
(left of =)
SUBSTR
TRANSLATE

Returns one character in the ASCII or the EBCDIC collating sequence

Returns an ASCII or EBCDIC collating sequence character string
Removes multiple blanks from a character string
Removes specific characters from a character string
Removes quotation marks from a character value
Searches a character expression for a string of characters
Searches a character expression for specific characters
Searches a character expression for a specified string as a word
Left aligns a SAS character expression
Returns the length of an argument
Converts all letters in an argument to lowercase
Returns a numeric result that indicates whether the argument contains a missing value
Adds double quotation marks to a character value
Returns the position of a character in the ASCII or EBCDIC collating
sequence
Repeats a character expression
Reverses a character expression
Right aligns a character expression
Selects a given word from a character expression
Encodes a string to facilitate searching
Determines the likelihood of two words matching, expressed as the
asymmetric spelling distance between the two words
Replaces character value contents
Extracts a substring from an argument
Replaces specific characters in a character expression

Character
TRANWRD
TRIM
TRIMN
UPCASE
VERIFY

Replaces or removes all occurrences of a word in a character string

Removes trailing blanks from character expressions and returns one
blank if the expression is missing
Removes trailing blanks from character expressions and returns a
null string (zero blanks) if the expression is missing
Converts all letters in an argument to uppercase
Returns the position of the first character that is unique to an expression

External Files
DNUM
DOPEN
DOPTNAME
DOPTNUM
DREAD
DROPNOTE
FAPPEND

Double-Byte Character Set (DBCS)

KCOMPARE
KCOMPRESS
KCOUNT
KINDEX
KINDEXC
KLEFT
KLENGTH
KLOWCASE
KREVERSE
KRIGHT
KSCAN
KSTRCAT
KSUBSTR
KSUBSTRB
KTRANSLATE
KTRIM
KTRUNCATE
KUPCASE
KUPDATE
KUPDATEB
KVERIFY

Returns the result of a comparison of character strings

Removes specific characters from a character string
Returns the number of double-byte characters in a string
Searches a character expression for a string of characters
Searches a character expression for specific characters
Left aligns a SAS character expression by removing unnecessary
leading DBCS blanks and SO/SI
Returns the length of an argument
Converts all letters in an argument to lowercase
Reverses a character expression
Right aligns a character expression by trimming trailing DBCS blanks
and SO/SI
Selects a given word from a character expression
Concatenates two or more character strings
Extracts a substring from an argument
Extracts a substring from an argument based on byte position
Replaces specific characters in a character expression
Removes trailing DBCS blanks and SO/SI from character expressions
Truncates a numeric value to a specified length
Converts all single-byte letters in an argument to uppercase
Inserts, deletes, and replaces character value contents
Inserts, deletes, and replaces character value contents based on
byte unit
Returns the position of the first character that is unique to an expression

Date and Time

DATDIF
DATE
DATEJUL
DATEPART
DATETIME
DAY
DHMS
HMS
HOUR
INTCK
INTNX
JULDATE
JULDATE7
MDY
MINUTE
MONTH
QTR
SECOND
TIME
TIMEPART
TODAY
WEEKDAY
YEAR
YRDIF
YYQ

Returns the number of days between two dates

Returns the current date as a SAS date value
Converts a Julian date to a SAS date value
Extracts the date from a SAS datetime value
Returns the current date and time of day as a SAS datetime value
Returns the day of the month from a SAS date value
Returns a SAS datetime value from date, hour, minute, and second
Returns a SAS time value from hour, minute, and second values
Returns the hour from a SAS time or datetime value
Returns the integer number of time intervals in a given time span
Advances a date, time, or datetime value by a given interval, and
returns a date, time, or datetime value
Returns the Julian date from a SAS date value
Returns a seven-digit Julian date from a SAS date value
Returns a SAS date value from month, day, and year values
Returns the minute from a SAS time or datetime value
Returns the month from a SAS date value
Returns the quarter of the year from a SAS date value
Returns the second from a SAS time or datetime value
Returns the current time of day
Extracts a time value from a SAS datetime value
Returns the current date as a SAS date value
Returns the day of the week from a SAS date value
Returns the year from a SAS date value
Returns the difference in years between two dates
Returns a SAS date value from the year and quarter

Descriptive Statistics
CSS
CV
KURTOSIS
MAX
MEAN
MIN
MISSING
N
NMISS
ORDINAL
RANGE
SKEWNESS
STD
STDERR
SUM
USS
VAR

Returns the corrected sum of squares

Returns the coefficient of variation
Returns the kurtosis
Returns the largest value
Returns the arithmetic mean (average)
Returns the smallest value
Returns a numeric result that indicates whether the argument contains a missing value
Returns the number of nonmissing values
Returns the number of missing values
Returns any specified order statistic
Returns the range of values
Returns the skewness
Returns the standard deviation
Returns the standard error of the mean
Returns the sum of the nonmissing arguments
Returns the uncorrected sum of squares
Returns the variance

External Files
DCLOSE
DINFO

Closes a directory that was opened by the DOPEN function and

returns a value
Returns information about a directory

FCLOSE
FCOL
FDELETE
FEXIST
FGET
FILEEXIST
FILENAME
FILEREF
FINFO
FNOTE
FOPEN
FOPTNAME
FOPTNUM
FPOINT
FPOS
FPUT
FREAD
FREWIND
FRLEN
FSEP
FWRITE
MOPEN
PATHNAME
SYSMSG
SYSRC

Returns the number of members in a directory

Opens a directory and returns a directory identifier value
Returns directory attribute information
Returns the number of information items that are available for a
directory
Returns the name of a directory member
Deletes a note marker from a SAS data set or an external file and
returns a value
Appends the current record to the end of an external file and returns
a value
Closes an external file, directory, or directory member, and returns a
value
Returns the current column position in the File Data Buffer (FDB)
Deletes an external file or an empty directory
Verifies the existence of an external file associated with a fileref and
returns a value
Copies data from the File Data Buffer (FDB) into a variable and
returns a value
Verifies the existence of an external file by its physical name and
returns a value
Assigns or deassigns a fileref for an external file, directory, or output
device and returns a value
Verifies that a fileref has been assigned for the current SAS session
and returns a value
Returns the value of a file information item
Identifies the last record that was read and returns a value that
FPOINT can use
Opens an external file and returns a file identifier value
Returns the name of an item of information about a file
Returns the number of information items that are available for an
external file
Positions the read pointer on the next record to be read and returns
a value
Sets the position of the column pointer in the File Data Buffer (FDB)
and returns a value
Moves data to the File Data Buffer (FDB) of an external file, starting
at the FDBs current column position, and returns a value
Reads a record from an external file into the File Data Buffer (FDB)
and returns a value
Positions the file pointer to the start of the file and returns a value
Returns the size of the last record read, or, if the file is opened for
output, returns the current record size
Sets the token delimiters for the FGET function and returns a value
Writes a record to an external file and returns a value
Opens a file by directory id and member name, and returns the file
identifier or a 0
Returns the physical name of a SAS data library or of an external
file, or returns a blank
Returns the text of error messages or warning messages from the
last data set or external file function execution
Returns a system error number

External Routines
CALL MODULE
CALL MODULEI
MODULEC
MODULEIC
MODULEIN
MODULEN

Calls the external routine without any return code

Calls the external routine without any return code (in IML environment only)
Calls an external routine and returns a character value
Calls an external routine and returns a character value (in IML environment only)
Calls an external routine and returns a numeric value (in IML environment only)
Calls an external routine and returns a numeric value

Financial
COMPOUND
CONVX
CONVXP
DACCDB
DACCDBSL
DACCSL
DACCSYD
DACCTAB
DEPDB
DEPDBSL
DEPSL
DEPSYD
DEPTAB
DUR
DURP
INTRR
IRR
MORT
NETPV
NPV
PVP
SAVING
YIELDP

Returns compound interest parameters

Returns the convexity for an enumerated cashflow
Returns the convexity for a periodic cashflow stream, such as a bond
Returns the accumulated declining balance depreciation
Returns the accumulated declining balance with conversion to a
straight-line depreciation
Returns the accumulated straight-line depreciation
Returns the accumulated sum-of-years-digits depreciation
Returns the accumulated depreciation from specified tables
Returns the declining balance depreciation
Returns the declining balance with conversion to a straight-line depreciation
Returns the straight-line depreciation
Returns the sum-of-years-digits depreciation
Returns the depreciation from specified tables
Returns the modified duration for an enumerated cashflow
Returns the modified duration for a periodic cashflow stream, such
as a bond
Returns the internal rate of return as a fraction
Returns the internal rate of return as a percentage
Returns amortization parameters
Returns the net present value as a fraction
Returns the net present value with the rate expressed as a percentage
Returns the present value for a periodic cashflow stream, such as a
bond
Returns the future value of a periodic saving
Returns the yield-to-maturity for a periodic cashflow stream, such as
a bond

Random Number
Hyperbolic
COSH
SINH
TANH

Returns the hyperbolic cosine

Returns the hyperbolic sine
Returns the hyperbolic tangent

CALL EXECUTE
CALL SYMPUT
RESOLVE

Resolves an argument and issues the resolved value for execution

Assigns DATA step information to a macro variable
Returns the resolved value of an argument after it has been processed by the macro facility
Returns the value of a macro variable during DATA step execution

Macro

SYMGET

RANEXP
RANGAM
RANNOR
RANPOI
RANTBL
RANTRI
RANUNI
UNIFORM

Returns a random variate from an exponential distribution

Returns a random variate from a gamma distribution
Returns a random variate from a normal distribution
Returns a random variate from a Poisson distribution
Returns a random variate from a tabled probability
Random variate from a triangular distribution
Returns a random variate from a uniform distribution
Random variate from a uniform distribution

ATTRC
ATTRN

Returns the value of a character attribute for a SAS data set

Returns the value of a numeric attribute for the specified SAS data
set
Verifies the existence of a SAS catalog or SAS catalog entry and
returns a value
Closes a SAS data set and returns a value
Returns the observation number of the current observation
Deletes a note marker from a SAS data set or an external file and
returns a value
Returns the SAS data set name that is associated with a data set
identifier
Verifies the existence of a SAS data library member
Reads the next nondeleted observation from a SAS data set into the
Data Set Data Vector (DDV) and returns a value
Reads a specified observation from a SAS data set into the Data Set
Data Vector (DDV) and returns a value
Returns the value of a SAS data set character variable
Returns the value of a SAS data set numeric variable
Returns a formatted error message for _IORC_
Assigns or deassigns a libref for a SAS data library and returns a
value
Verifies that a libref has been assigned and returns a value
Returns an observation ID for the current observation of a SAS data
set
Opens a SAS data set and returns a value
Returns the physical name of a SAS data library or of an external
file, or returns a blank
Locates an observation identified by the NOTE function and returns
a value
Positions the data set pointer at the beginning of a SAS data set and
returns a value
Returns the text of error messages or warning messages from the
last data set or external file function execution
Returns a system error number
Returns the format assigned to a SAS data set variable
Returns the informat assigned to a SAS data set variable
Returns the label assigned to a SAS data set variable
Returns the length of a SAS data set variable
Returns the name of a SAS data set variable
Returns the number of a variables position in a SAS data set
Returns the data type of a SAS data set variable

SAS File I/O

CEXIST

Mathematical
ABS
AIRY
CNONCT
COMB
CONSTANT
DAIRY
DEVIANCE
DIGAMMA
ERF
ERFC
EXP
FACT
FNONCT
GAMMA
IBESSEL
JBESSEL
LGAMMA
LOG
LOG10
LOG2
MOD
PERM
SIGN
SQRT
TNONCT
TRIGAMMA

Returns the absolute value

Returns the value of the airy function
Returns the noncentrality parameter from a chi-squared distribution
Computes the number of combinations of n elements taken r at a
time and returns a value
Computes some machine and mathematical constants and returns a
value
Returns the derivative of the airy function
Computes the deviance and returns a value
Returns the value of the DIGAMMA function
Returns the value of the (normal) error function
Returns the value of the complementary (normal) error function
Returns the value of the exponential function
Computes a factorial and returns a value
Returns the value of the noncentrality parameter of an F distribution
Returns the value of the Gamma function
Returns the value of the modified essel function
Returns the value of the essel function
Returns the natural logarithm of the Gamma function
Returns the natural (base e) logarithm
Returns the logarithm to the base 10
Returns the logarithm to the base 2
Returns the remainder value
Computes the number of permutations of n items taken r at a time
and returns a value
Returns the sign of a value
Returns the square root of a value
Returns the value of the noncentrality parameter from the students t
distribution
Returns the value of the TRIGAMMA function

Probability
CDF
LOGPDF
LOGSDF
PDF
POISSON
PROBBETA
PROBBNML
PROBBNRM

PROBNEGB
PROBNORM
PROBT
SDF

Computes cumulative distribution functions

Computes the logarithm of a probability (mass) function
Computes the logarithm of a survival function
Computes probability density (mass) functions
Returns the probability from a Poisson distribution
Returns the probability from a beta distribution
Returns the probability from a binomial distribution
Computes a probability from the bivariate normal distribution and
returns a value
Returns the probability from a chi-squared distribution
Returns the probability from an F distribution
Returns the probability from a gamma distribution
Returns the probability from a hypergeometric distribution
Computes a probability or a quantile from various distributions for
multiple comparisons of means, and returns a value
Returns the probability from a negative binomial distribution
Returns the probability from the standard normal distribution
Returns the probability from a t distribution
Computes a survival function

BETAINV
CINV
FINV
GAMINV
PROBIT
TINV

Returns a quantile from the beta distribution

Returns a quantile from the chi-squared distribution
Returns a quantile from the F distribution
Returns a quantile from the gamma distribution
Returns a quantile from the standard normal distribution
Returns a quantile from the t distribution

PROBCHI
PROBF
PROBGAM
PROBHYPR
PROBMC

Quantile

Random Number
CALL RANBIN
CALL RANCAU
CALL RANEXP
CALL RANGAM
CALL RANNOR
CALL RANPOI
CALL RANTBL
CALL RANTRI
CALL RANUNI
NORMAL
RANBIN
RANCAU

Returns a random variate from a binomial distribution

Returns a random variate from a Cauchy distribution
Returns a random variate from an exponential distribution
Returns a random variate from a gamma distribution
Returns a random variate from a normal distribution
Returns a random variate from a Poisson distribution
Returns a random variate from a tabled probability distribution
Returns a random variate from a triangular distribution
Returns a random variate from a uniform distribution
Returns a random variate from a normal distribution
Returns a random variate from a binomial distribution
Returns a random variate from a Cauchy distribution

CLOSE
CUROBS
DROPNOTE
DSNAME
EXIST
FETCH
FETCHOBS
GETVARC
GETVARN
IORCMSG
LIBNAME
LIBREF
NOTE
OPEN
PATHNAME
POINT
REWIND
SYSMSG
SYSRC
VARFMT
VARINFMT
VARLABEL
VARLEN
VARNAME
VARNUM
VARTYPE

Special
ADDR
CALL POKE
CALL SYSTEM
DIF
GETOPTION
INPUT
INPUTC
INPUTN
LAG
PEEK
PEEKC
POKE
PUT
PUTC
PUTN
SYSGET
SYSPARM
SYSPROD
SYSTEM

Returns the memory address of a variable

Writes a value directly into memory
Submits an operating environment command for execution
Returns differences between the argument and its nth lag
Returns the value of a SAS system or graphics option
Returns the value produced when a SAS expression that uses a
specified informat expression is read
Enables you to specify a character informat at run time
Enables you to specify a numeric informat at run time
Returns values from a queue
Stores the contents of a memory address into a numeric variable
Stores the contents of a memory address into a character variable
Writes a value directly into memory
Returns a value using a specified format
Enables you to specify a character format at run time
Enables you to specify a numeric format at run time
Returns the value of the specified operating environment variable
Returns the system parameter string
Determines if a product is licensed
Issues an operating environment command during a SAS session

FIPNAME
FIPNAMEL
FIPSTATE
STFIPS
STNAME
STNAMEL
ZIPFIPS
ZIPNAME
ZIPNAMEL
ZIPSTATE

Converts FIPS codes to uppercase state names

Converts FIPS codes to mixed case state names
Converts FIPS codes to two-character postal codes
Converts state postal codes to FIPS state codes
Converts state postal codes to uppercase state names
Converts state postal codes to mixed case state names
Converts ZIP codes to FIPS state codes
Converts ZIP codes to uppercase state names
Converts ZIP codes to mixed case state names
Converts ZIP codes to state postal codes

ARCOS
ARSIN

Returns the arccosine

Returns the arcsine

State Postal, FIPS, and ZIP Codes

Trigonometric

Trigonometric
ATAN
COS
SIN
TAN

Returns the arctangent

Returns the cosine
Returns the sine
Returns the tangent

CEIL

Returns the smallest integer that is greater than or equal to the argument
Returns the largest integer that is less than or equal to the argument
Returns the nearest integer if the argument is within 1E-12
Returns the integer value
Rounds to the nearest round-off unit
Truncates a numeric value to a specified length

Truncation
FLOOR
FUZZ
INT
ROUND
TRUNC

Variable Control
CALL LABEL
CALL SET
CALL VNAME

Assigns a variable label to a specified character variable

Links SAS data set variables to DATA step or macro variables that
have the same name and data type
Assigns a variable name as the value of a specified variable

Variable Information
VARRAY
VARRAYX
VFORMAT
VFORMATD
VFORMATDX
VFORMATN
VFORMATNX
VFORMATW
VFORMATWX
VFORMATX
VINARRAY
VINARRAYX
VINFORMAT
VINFORMATD
VINFORMATDX
VINFORMATN
VINFORMATNX
VINFORMATW
VINFORMATWX
VINFORMATX
VLABEL
VLABELX
VLENGTH
VLENGTHX
VNAME
VNAMEX
VTYPE
VTYPEX

Returns a value that indicates whether the specified name is an

array
Returns a value that indicates whether the value of the specified
argument is an array
Returns the format that is associated with the specified variable
Returns the format decimal value that is associated with the specified variable
Returns the format decimal value that is associated with the value of
the specified argument
Returns the format name that is associated with the specified variable
Returns the format name that is associated with the value of the
specified argument
Returns the format width that is associated with the specified variable
Returns the format width that is associated with the value of the
specified argument
Returns the format that is associated with the value of the specified
argument
Returns a value that indicates whether the specified variable is a
member of an array
Returns a value that indicates whether the value of the specified
argument is a member of an array
Returns the informat that is associated with the specified variable
Returns the informat decimal value that is associated with the specified variable
Returns the informat decimal value that is associated with the value
of the specified argument
Returns the informat name that is associated with the specified variable
Returns the informat name that is associated with the value of the
specified argument
Returns the informat width that is associated with the specified variable
Returns the informat width that is associated with the value of the
specified argument
Returns the informat that is associated with the value of the specified
argument
Returns the label that is associated with the specified variable
Returns the variable label for the value of a specified argument
Returns the compile-time (allocated) size of the specified variable
Returns the compile-time (allocated) size for the value of the specified argument
Returns the name of the specified variable
Validates the value of the specified argument as a variable name
Returns the type (character or numeric) of the specified variable
Returns the type (character or numeric) for the value of the specified
argument

Web Tools
HTMLDECODE
HTMLENCODE
URLDECODE
URLENCODE

Decodes a string containing HTML numeric character references or

HTML character entity references and returns the decoded string
Encodes characters using HTML character entity references and
returns the encoded string
Returns a string that was decoded using the URL escape syntax
Returns a string that was encoded using the URL escape syntax