What is the SAS DATA Statement?

DATA Statement defines a single data set from different types of data sources.

1. Using DATALINES statements to provide data - If you want to provide data inside the SAS program, you can use a DATALINES statement as shown in the following examples:

DATA Club; /* "Club" specifies the data set name */

  /* "INPUT ..." specifies columns and their types/sizes */
  /* Column followed by "$" specifies "String" type */
  INPUT Id 1-4 Name $ 6-22 Weight 24-25;

  /* "DATALINES" is followed by actual data lines */
  DATALINES;
1023 David Shaw        77
1049 Amelia Serrano    72
1219 Alan Nance        83
1246 Ravi Sinha        66
1078 Ashley McKnight   62
;

2. Using loop logics to generate data - If you want to generate data from the SAS program, you can use some loop logic as shown in the following examples:

DATA Sample; /* "Sample" specifies the data set name */
  Weight = 0; /* Specifies a new variable */
  DO Id = 1 to 6; /* Repeat a logic 6 times */
    Weight = RAND('UNIFORM', 60, 90);
    OUTPUT; /* Generate a row of data for all variables */
  END;

⇒ SAS PRINT Procedure

⇐ SAS Program Structure

⇑ SAS Language Basics

⇑⇑ SAS - Frequently Asked Questions