Date:         Tue, 6 Jun 2000 14:05:52 +0200
Reply-To:     Jim Groeneveld <J.Groeneveld@ITGROUPS.COM>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Jim Groeneveld <J.Groeneveld@ITGROUPS.COM>
Subject:      Re: passing equal sign as a parameter in macro
Comments: To: Annie Chang <chang5a@YAHOO.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain

Annie,

How about this:

%MACRO DeQuote (Arg);
   %LET Length = %LENGTH(&Arg);
   %IF %INDEX(%STR(%"%'),%QSUBSTR(&Arg,1,1)) AND &Length>1 AND
       %QSUBSTR(&Arg,&Length,1)=%QSUBSTR(&Arg,1,1) %THEN
       %SUBSTR(&Arg,2,%EVAL(&Length-2));
   %ELSE &Arg;
%MEND;

%MACRO Test (Arg);
   %PUT Arg=&Arg;
   %LET Arg = %DeQuote(&Arg);
   %PUT DeQuoted Arg=&Arg;
%MEND;

%Test ("New=3");
%Test ('Old=2');
%Test (Single);
%Test ("Embed"ded);
%Test (%STR(%"Odd));

So you may pass a quoted argument with just single or double quotes to a
macro and remove those quotes within the macro using the macro
(function-like) %DEQUOTE. HTH - LMK.

Regards - Jim.
--
Y. (Jim) Groeneveld, MSc      IMRO TRAMARKO       tel. +31 412 407 070
senior statistician,          P.O. Box 1          fax. +31 412 407 080
head IT department            5350 AA BERGHEM     IMRO TRAMARKO: a CRO
J.Groeneveld@ITGroups.com     the Netherlands     in clinical research

My computer does not need me at all, but I can't do without it anymore.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Annie Chang [SMTP:chang5a@YAHOO.COM]
> Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2000 1:48 AM
> To:   SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject:      passing equal sign as a parameter in macro
>
> I think i have a hard question:
>
> %macro test ( var);
> data tmp;
> set dataset;
> &var;
> %mend;
>
> %test ( "new = 3");
>
> What I am doing here? I am trying to pass an equal
> sign "=" to the macro.
> (don't complain about the silly example, I make it up
> so that my question
> is easier to explain). But it doesn't work. Since if I
> quote it,
> &var becomes
>  "new = 3";
> the quotation marks become errors. However, if I just
> call it like
> %test ( new = 3);
>
> sas will complain that there is no key parameter as
> 'new'. i.e., sas treats
> the equal sign as a default definition for a
> parameter, and won't pass the
> whole thing 'new = 3' to &var.
>
> I tried all those quote functions but to no avail.
> Need an expert in SAS
> to help!!
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
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