| Why does SAS use January 1, 1960, as its arbitrary reference date? How do you convert a value such as 27 January, 2003, into SAS dates? You?ll find the answers to these questions and much more in this compact reference that makes it easy to understand how to use and manipulate dates, times, and datetimes in SAS. Novice-to-intermediate users will find the clear, task-focused examples and explanations of formats and functions invaluable; experienced users will appreciate discussions of topics such as intervals and international date and time formats. Included is a bonus "Quick Reference Guide" listing all the formats (with examples) on one handy page.
In the years that I’ve been working with SAS, and teaching students how to use it, I’ve noticed two things about it that consistently confuse programmers who are new to SAS. First, there is the “implied” DO-UNTIL (end-of-file) of the DATA step, and then there is the concept of dates (and times) within SAS. I’ve seen many misuses of character strings masquerading as dates and/or times over the past years. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the power and flexibility of dates and times in SAS. There is much more than just having numbers representing date and time values in SAS. We’ll start with the basics in the first three chapters, and then progress to some more advanced uses of those date and time values.
About the Author
Derek P. Morgan is a database administrator in the Division of Statistical Genomics at the Washington University School of Medicine where he designs, develops, and supports data entry/management systems using SAS/AP and SAS/FSP for medical research. Skilled at using the DATA step and macro language to process raw data and generate reports, he enjoys teaching Base SAS to new users and presenting in-house seminars on topics including applications development, research data management, and advanced Base SAS. A SAS programmer since 1987 and former president of the MidWest SAS Users Group (MWSUG), Derek has received several awards at SUGI and regional users group conferences. |
