I need to add a current date to the output I am exporting from SAS in the following format: filename_YYYYMMDDhhmmss.csv
I am creating a macro variable the following way:
%let date_human = %sysfunc(today(), YYYYMMDDn8.);
Does anybody know how to create a custom format for the date I have got? datetime20. gives an incorrect one.
Thank you.
Use the B8601 formats.
%let now=%sysfunc(datetime());
%let date_human=%sysfunc(putn(&now,B8601DN8))%sysfunc(timepart(&now),B8601TM6);
Two solutions:
1. Create a picture format with datetime directives using proc format
Here, we are creating a format called date_human. You can name this anything that you'd like.
proc format;
picture date_human other='%0Y%0M%0D%0H%0M%0S' (datatype=datetime);
run;
%let date_human = %sysfunc(datetime(), date_human.);
2. Mash together various macro variables
/* YYYYMMDD part */
%let yymmdd = %sysfunc(today(), yymmdd8.);
%let datetime = %sysfunc(datetime());
%let time = %sysfunc(putn(%sysfunc(timepart(&datetime.)), time8.0));
/* hhmmss part */
%let hour = %scan(&time., 1, :);
%let min = %scan(&time., 2, :);
%let sec = %scan(&time., 2, :);
/* Put it all together */
%let date_human = &yymmdd.&hour.&min.&sec.;
Use picture in proc format:
proc format;
*custom format for the datetime values;
picture cust_dt other = '%0Y%0m%0d%0H%0M%0S' (datatype=datetime);
run;
** put into macro **;
data test;
dt = datetime();
call symputx("dt",strip(put(dt,cust_dt.)));
run;
%put &dt.;
** use macro for filename **;
data file_&dt.; set sashelp.class;
run;
Related
So I have a range of datasets in a specific library. These datasets are named in the format DATASET_YYYYMM, with one dataset for each month. I am trying to append a range of these datasets based on user input for the date range. i.e. If start_date is 01NOV2019 and the end_date is 31JAN2020, I want to append the three datasets: LIBRARY.DATASET_201911, LIBRARY.DATASET_201912 and LIBRARY.DATASET_202001.
The range is obviously variable, so I can't simply name the datasets manually in a set function. Since I need to loop through the years and months in the date range, I believe a macro is the best way to do this. I'm using a loop within the SET statement to append all the datasets. I have copied my example code below. It does work in theory. But in practice, only if we are looping over the months of November and December. As the format of the dataset name has a two digit month, for Jan-Sept it will be 01-09. The month function returns 1-9 however, and of course a 'File DATASET_NAME does not exist' error is thrown.
Problem is I cannot figure out a way to get it to interpret the month with leading 0, without ruining functionality of another part of the loop/macro.
I have tried numerous approaches to format the number as z2, cannot get any to work.
i.e. Including PUTN functions in the DO line for quote_month as follows, it ignores the leading zero when generating the dataset name in the line below.
%DO quote_month = %SYSFUNC(IFN("e_year. = &start_year.,%SYSFUNC(PUTN(&start_month.,z2.)),1,.)) %TO %SYSFUNC(IFN("e_year. = &end_year.,%SYSFUNC(PUTN(&end_month.,z2.)),12,.));
Below is example code (without any attempt to reformat it to z2) - it will throw an error because it cannot find 'dataset_20201' because it is actually called 'dataset_202001'. The dataset called dataset_combined_example produces the desired output of the code by manually referencing the dataset names which it will be unable to do in practice. Does anyone know how to go about this?
DATA _NULL_;
FORMAT start_date end_date DATE9.;
start_date = '01NOV2019'd;
end_date = '31JAN2020'd;
CALL symput('start_date',start_date);
CALL symput('end_date',end_date);
RUN;
DATA dataset_201911;
input name $;
datalines;
Nov1
Nov2
;
RUN;
DATA dataset_201912;
input name $;
datalines;
Dec1
Dec2
;
RUN;
DATA dataset_202001;
input name $;
datalines;
Jan1
Jan2
;
RUN;
DATA dataset_combined_example;
SET dataset_201911 dataset_201912 dataset_202001;
RUN;
%MACRO get_table(start_date, end_date);
%LET start_year = %SYSFUNC(year(&start_date.));
%LET end_year = %SYSFUNC(year(&end_date.));
%LET start_month = %SYSFUNC(month(&start_date.));
%LET end_month = %SYSFUNC(month(&end_date.));
DATA dataset_combined;
SET
%DO quote_year = &start_year. %TO &end_year.;
%DO quote_month = %SYSFUNC(IFN("e_year. = &start_year.,&start_month.,1,.)) %TO %SYSFUNC(IFN("e_year. = &end_year.,&end_month.,12,.));
dataset_"e_year."e_month.
%END;
%END;
;
RUN;
%MEND;
%get_table(&start_date.,&end_date.);
You could do this using putn and z2. format.
%DO quote_year = &start_year. %TO &end_year.;
%DO quote_month = %SYSFUNC(IFN("e_year. = &start_year.,&start_month.,1,.)) %TO %SYSFUNC(IFN("e_year. = &end_year.,&end_month.,12,.));
dataset_"e_year.%sysfunc(putn("e_month.,z2.))
%END;
%END;
You can also do this using the metadata tables without having to resort to macro loops in the first place:
/* A few datasets to combine */
data
DATASET_201910
DATASET_201911
DATASET_201912
DATASET_202001
;
run;
%let START_DATE = '01dec2019'd;
%let END_DATE = '31jan2020'd;
proc sql noprint;
select catx('.', libname, memname) into :DS_LIST separated by ' '
from dictionary.tables
where
&START_DATE <=
case
when prxmatch('/DATASET_\d{6}/', memname)
then input(scan(memname, -1, '_'), yymmn6.)
else -99999
end
<= &END_DATE
and libname = 'WORK'
;
quit;
data combined_datasets /view=combined_datasets;
set &DS_LIST;
run;
The case-when in the where clause ensures that any other datasets present in the same library that don't match the expected naming scheme are ignored.
One key difference with this approach is that you will never end up attempting to read a dataset that doesn't exist if one of the expected datasets in your range is missing.
You can use the Z format to generate strings with leading zeros.
But your problem is much easier if you use SAS date functions and formats to generate the YYYYMM strings. Just use a normal iterative %DO loop to cycle the month offset from zero to the number of months between the two dates.
%macro get_table(start_date, end_date);
%local offset dsname ;
data dataset_combined;
set
%do offset=0 %to %sysfunc(intck(month,&start_date,&end_date));
%let dsname=dataset_%sysfunc(intnx(month,&start_date,&offset),yymmn6);
&dsname.
%end;
;
run;
%mend get_table;
Result:
445 options mprint;
446 %get_table(start_date='01NOV2019'd,end_date='31JAN2020'd);
MPRINT(GET_TABLE): data dataset_combined;
MPRINT(GET_TABLE): set dataset_201911 dataset_201912 dataset_202001 ;
MPRINT(GET_TABLE): run;
In a macro
Use INTNX to compute the bounds for a loop over date values. Within the loop:
Compute the candidate data set name according to specified lib, prefix and desired date value format. <yyyy><mm> is output by format yymmn6.
Use EXIST to check candidate data sets for existence.
Alternatively, do not check, but make sure to set OPTIONS NODSNFERR prior to combining. The setting will prevent errors when specifying a non-existent data set.
Update the loop index to the end of the month so the next increment takes the index to the start of the next month.
%macro names_by_month(lib=work, prefix=data_, start_date=today(), end_date=today(), format=yymmn6.);
%local index name;
%* loop over first-of-the-month date values;
%do index = %sysfunc(intnx(month, &start_date, 0)) %to %sysfunc(intnx(month, &end_date, 0));
%* compute month dependent name;
%let name = &lib..&prefix.%sysfunc(putn(&index,&format));
%* emit name if it exists;
%if %sysfunc(exist(&name)) or %sysfunc(exist(&name,VIEW)) %then %str(&name);
%* prepare index for loop +1 increment so it goes to start of next month;
%let index = %sysfunc(intnx(month, &index, 0, E));
%end;
%mend;
* example usage:
data combined_imports(label="nov2019 to jan2020");
set
%names_by_month(
prefix=import_,
start_date='01NOV2019'd,
end_date = '31JAN2020'd
)
;
run;
How to assign a variable that contains a string to a macro?
I've put my question in the comments of code below:
%let HOLD_MONTHS=1;
data _null_;
if &HOLD_MONTHS=1 then hold='h1m';
*temp='model_h1m';
temp=catx('_','model',hold);
*how to assign 'model_h1m to the macro a?;
%let a = %str(temp );
run;
*now the following print "temp";
%put &a;
You can use call symput to assign the value of a variable in a data step, e.g.:
%let HOLD_MONTHS=1;
data _null_;
if &HOLD_MONTHS=1 then hold='h1m';
temp=catx('_','model',hold);
call symput('a',temp);
run;
%put &a;
%let enddt = intnx('month',today(),0);
%let data = DataName_%sysfunc(intnx(month,%sysfunc(date()),-1),yymmn6);
%let intdt = intnx('month',today(),-7);
%let start = intnx('month',today(),-25);
How can I write the other 3 macro variables based on the first one (enddt)
For example, As of today, intdt=enddt-7, start=enddt-25. Data=DataName_201604.
If I change the enddt to intnx('month',today(),-1), then the other three will automatically changed. intdt=enddt-7, start=enddt-25. Data=DataName_201603.
Now if I want the date go back to 2 month, I have to do it manually like this:
%let enddt = intnx('month',today(),-2);
%let data = DataName_%sysfunc(intnx(month,%sysfunc(date()),-3),yymmn6);
%let intdt = intnx('month',today(),-9);
%let start = intnx('month',today(),-27);
If I understand you correctly, you want to loop over a date range with your 4 variables fixed time distances apart from each other. You need to create a macro function that redefines the 4 variables each iteration, something like this should get you on the right track:
%macro dateloop();
%do i=0 %to 10;
%let enddt = %sysfunc(intnx(month,%sysfunc(date()),-&i),yymmn6);
%let data = DataName_%sysfunc(intnx(month,%sysfunc(date()),-&i-1),yymmn6);
%let intdt = %sysfunc(intnx(month,%sysfunc(date()),-&i-7),yymmn6);
%let start = %sysfunc(intnx(month,%sysfunc(date()),-&i-25),yymmn6);
%put enddt = &enddt, data = &data, intdt = &intdt, start = &start;
/**** do your work here ****/
%end;
%mend;
%dateloop();
Your issue is that you're not setting intdt and start to have anything to do with enddt. Try replacing "today()" with "&enddt."
For example:
%let intdt = intnx('month',&enddt.,-7);
My codes are:
libname " Cp/mydata"
options ;
%let yyyymmdd=20050210;
%let offset=0;
%let startrange=0;
%let endrange=0;
/* MACRO FOR INCREMENTING THE DATE */
%macro base(yyyymmdd=, offset=);
%local date x ds; /* declare macro variables with local scope */
%let date=%sysfunc(mdy(%substr(&yyyymmdd,5,2)
,%substr(&yyyymmdd,7,2)
,%substr(&yyyymmdd,1,4))); /* convert yyyymmdd to SAS date */
%let loopout=100;/* hardcoded - number of times to check whether ds exists */
%do x=&offset %to &loopout; /* begin loop */
/* convert &date to yyyymmdd format */
%let ds=AQ.CO_%sysfunc(intnx(day,&date,&offset),yymmddn8.);
%if %sysfunc(exist( &ds )) %then %do;
%put &ds exists!;
&ds /* write out the dataset, if it exists */
%let x=&loopout; /* exit loop */
%end;
%else %do;
%put &ds does not exist - checking subsequent day;
%let date=&date+1;
%end;
%end;
%mend;
%macro loop(yyyymmdd=, startrange=, endrange=);
%local date x ds;
%let date=%sysfunc(mdy(%substr(&yyyymmdd,5,2)
,%substr(&yyyymmdd,7,2)
,%substr(&yyyymmdd,1,4)));
data x;
set set %base(yyyymmdd=&yyyymmdd, offset=0)
/* loop through each specific dataset, checking first whether it exists.. */
%do x=&startrange %to &endrange;
%let ds=AQ.CO_%sysfunc(intnx(day,&date,&x),yymmddn8.);
%if %sysfunc(exist( &ds )) %then %do;
&ds
%end;
%end;
;
run;
%mend;
This was the error generated when I tried to run this macro.
data temp;
58 set %loop(yyyymmdd=&yyyymmdd, startrange=&startrange,
58 ! endrange=&endrange);
ERROR: File WORK.DATA.DATA does not exist.
ERROR: File WORK.X.DATA does not exist.
AQ.CO_20050210 does not exist - checking subsequent day
AQ.CO_20050211 does not exist - checking subsequent day
AQ.CO_20050212 exists!
NOTE: The system stopped processing this step because of errors.
I want help on two things:
1) Here, I'm trying to increment my date by 1 or 2 or so on if that date is not there in my original dataset. Please help to make this macro work fine.
2)I would like to have another column ie work.date in my data that will have 0 or 1(1 if the specified date yyyymmdd exist in our original data and 0 if I'm incrementing). Please make the specified changes in my macro.
Thanks in advance!!
I wasn't quite sure exactly what your %base() macro was trying to achieve but there were a couple of things I noticed.
First try turning on option mprint; to help with debugging. If you still need more debugging info you can also try turning on the following options (I'd suggest 1 at a time until you know which ones you need):
option symbolgen macrogen mlogic;
Secondly, you have set set instead of just set in your example code. I don't think that is helping any =).
When I tried the code quickly on my machine I noticed I was getting a strange error (different from yours) when I called the %base() macro. It seemed like an error that shouldn't be occurring so I wrapped the call in an %unquote() function just to make sure and I started to receive the error your post mentioned. You may want to try this as well:
set %unquote(%base(yyyymmdd=&yyyymmdd, offset=0))
Normally the %unquote() function isn't required unless you are explicitly using macro quoting functions and getting strange errors, but SAS macros sometimes seem to have a mind of their own. I only ever add this when I know it is required.
Also, your libname call is missing a semicolon at the end of the line.
Finally, some advice on working with dates in the SAS macro language. Don't keep converting between the date value, and the formatted value. It will make your code bigger, more error prone and more difficult to read. I know because I used to do it that way too. Try instead to always work with variables that contain the actual date value (by using the result from %sysfunc(mdy()) ) and then if you need a formatted value then create a new variable (eg. %let yyyymmdd = %sysfunc(putn(&mydate),yymmddn8.);. When you pass values from one macro to another, don't pass the formatted values even if it seems easier, pass the actual values.
Making the above changes removed all errors on my machine. Final code:
libname " Cp/mydata";
%let yyyymmdd=20050210;
%let offset=0;
%let startrange=0;
%let endrange=0;
/* MACRO FOR INCREMENTING THE DATE */
%macro base(yyyymmdd=, offset=);
%local date x ds; /* declare macro variables with local scope */
%let date=%sysfunc(mdy(%substr(&yyyymmdd,5,2)
,%substr(&yyyymmdd,7,2)
,%substr(&yyyymmdd,1,4))); /* convert yyyymmdd to SAS date */
%let loopout=100;/* hardcoded - number of times to check whether ds exists */
%do x=&offset %to &loopout; /* begin loop */
/* convert &date to yyyymmdd format */
%let ds=AQ.CO_%sysfunc(intnx(day,&date,&offset),yymmddn8.);
%if %sysfunc(exist( &ds )) %then %do;
%put &ds exists!;
&ds /* write out the dataset, if it exists */
%let x=&loopout; /* exit loop */
%end;
%else %do;
%put &ds does not exist - checking subsequent day;
%let date=&date+1;
%end;
%end;
%mend;
%macro loop(yyyymmdd=, startrange=, endrange=);
%local date x ds;
%let date=%sysfunc(mdy(%substr(&yyyymmdd,5,2)
,%substr(&yyyymmdd,7,2)
,%substr(&yyyymmdd,1,4)));
data x;
set %unquote( %base(yyyymmdd=&yyyymmdd, offset=0))
/* loop through each specific dataset, checking first whether it exists.. */
%do x=&startrange %to &endrange;
%let ds=AQ.CO_%sysfunc(intnx(day,&date,&x),yymmddn8.);
%if %sysfunc(exist( &ds )) %then %do;
&ds
%end;
%end;
;
run;
%mend;
%loop(yyyymmdd=&yyyymmdd, startrange=&startrange, endrange=&endrange);
Seems to me that your solution is quite complex.
But i believe that at least one issue is the variable x in our second macro (%loop): i do not see where you define it.
You can probably do all of this much easier, IF you do not need to limit the loopout. If you just want all datasets beyond the offset, you can simplify all this by making use of the SASHELP library to find the datasets you need. And then just loop over that result.
DEPRECATED REPLY BELOW, misread the need
You are partially reinventing the wheel, have a deeper look at the intnx and intck functions.
http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/etsug/60372/HTML/default/viewer.htm#etsug_tsdata_sect038.htm
https://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/lrdict/64316/HTML/default/viewer.htm#a000212700.htm
I am trying to create a new variable by assigning a format to an existing variable. I'm doing this from within a macro. I'm getting the following error: ": Expecting a format name." Any thoughts on how to resolve? Thanks!
/* macro to loop thru a list of vars and execute a code block on each. This is working fine. */
%macro iterlist
(
code =
,list =
)
;
%*** ASSIGN EACH ITEM IN THE LIST TO AN INDEXED MACRO VARIABLE &&ITEM&I ;
%let i = 1;
%do %while (%cmpres(%scan(&list., &i.)) ne );
%let item&i. = %cmpres(%scan(&list., &i.));
%let i = %eval((&i. + 1);
%end;
%*** STORE THE COUNT OF THE NUMBER OF ITEMS IN A MACRO VARIABLE: &CNTITEM;
%let cntitem = %eval((&i. - 1);
%*** EXPRESS CODE, REPLACING TOKENS WITH ELEMENTS OF THE LIST, IN SEQUENCE;
%do i = 1 %to &cntitem.;
%let codeprp = %qsysfunc(tranwrd(&code.,?,%nrstr(&&item&i..)));
%unquote(&codeprp.)
%end;
%mend iterlist;
/* set the list of variables to iterate thru */
%let mylist = v1 v2 v3 v4;
/* create a contents table to look up format info to assign in macro below*/
proc contents data=a.recode1 noprint out=contents;
run;
/* macro to create freq and chisq tables for each var */
%macro runfreqs (variabl = );
proc freq data=a.recode1 noprint ;
tables &variabl.*improved /out=&variabl._1 chisq;
output out=&variabl.chisq n pchi ;
run;
/* do some more stuff with the freq tables, then grab format for variable from contents */
data _null_;
set contents;
if name="&variabl." then CALL SYMPUT("classformat", format);
run;
data &variabl._3;
length classvalue $ 30 ;
set &variabl._2; ;
/* output a new var using the macro variable for format that we pulled from contents above. Here's where the error occurs. */
classvalue=put(class, %quote(&classformat.));
run;
%mend runfreqs;
* run the macro, iterating thru var list and creating freq tables;
%ITERLIST(list = &mylist., code = %nrstr(%runfreqs(variabl = ?);));
Just guessing, the line
classvalue=put(class, %quote(&classformat.));
should be
classvalue=put(class, &classformat..);
Two points because one is "eaten" by macro processor to mark end of macro variable name, the second one is needed to complete format name.
I believe you won't need %quote() in your case - format name cannot contain strings quoted by %quote().
EDIT: Again not tried, just based on the code I see you also need to change CALL SYMPUT("classformat", format);
to CALL SYMPUTX("classformat", format);
CALL SYMPUTX() is advanced version of CALL SYMPUT(), it removes trailing blanks in macro variable value while the original version keeps blanks. Effectively this will be same as your solution, just simpler.
So the problem is indeed with extra blanks between format name and the period.
No idea why this works and vasja's idea wouldn't, but the problem was clearly with the period on the end of the format name (or perhaps some extra white space?). I changed the data step to add the period before the SYMPUT call:
data _null_;
set contents;
myformat=catt(format,'.');
if name="&variabl." then CALL SYMPUT("classformat", myformat);
run;