Date:         Tue, 9 Mar 2004 13:17:01 -0800
Reply-To:     "Schwarz, Barry A" <barry.a.schwarz@BOEING.COM>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         "Schwarz, Barry A" <barry.a.schwarz@BOEING.COM>
Subject:      Re: Data Input Problem 2
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

If the ASCII file has no carriage returns or new line characters, how can it have 1024 characters per line?  What is a line in this context?

If what you really have is a continuous stream that consists of one 8-byte block and numerous 17-byte blocks, then the following may work:

DATA output (KEEP = year first last class);
     INFILE ascii;
     IF _N_ = 1 THEN
          INPUT dummy $CHAR8. @@;
     INPUT   year        4.
                   dummy    $CHAR1.
                   first          $CHAR4.
                   dummy     $CHAR1.
                   last           $CHAR5
                   class        1.
                   dummy     $CHAR1.
                   @@;
RUN;

-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Gim [mailto:1800okla@HANMAIL.NET]
Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2004 11:29 AM
To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Data Input Problem 2


Hello,

Would you kindly help me code this so that I can generate the desired
OUTPUT file ?
The input ASCII file has total fixed length of 1024 per line
(with no carriage-return or new line characters).
The following 4 fields are in each record (17 bytes) in INPUT file.

Field Name      Width   Type
YEAR            4       NUMBER
space           1
FIRST           4       CHAR
space           1
LAST            5       CHAR
CLASS           1       NUMBER
space           1

Please note that the first 8 bytes are blank and the YEAR starts from
the 9th column in the first line of INPUT file.
I don't know how to handle the first 8 bytes of blank in the first line,
 which bothers me.

Thank you very much for your time and effort in advance.


INPUT file
===================
        2001 John Smith8 2003 Mary Potts1 [.........] 1998 WINA PRI
CE2 1998 Mark Water2
===================
[.........] above means that the data of the same format continue.

Column 1017 in the first line : W
Column 1018 in the first line : I
Column 1019 in the first line : N
Column 1020 in the first line : A
Column 1021 in the first line : space
Column 1022 in the first line : P
Column 1023 in the first line : R
Column 1024 in the first line : I


desired OUTPUT file
===================
2001 John Smith 8
2003 Mary Potts 1
 [.........]
1998 WINA PRICE 2
1998 Mark Water 2