Date:         Tue, 23 Mar 2004 13:48:19 -0800
Reply-To:     Steve <das_1@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Steve <das_1@HOTMAIL.COM>
Organization: http://groups.google.com
Subject:      Creating an external lookup file
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hello,

I would like to store hard-coded values in a file external to our SAS
program, and then make the program read it and organise into a lookup
table. I have read that the file can be a flat file or a SAS data
file.  I would like our SAS program to read 2 .dat files (data, coded
values) and then generate a SAS data set.

The data will be separate from the program, and I want to automate the
create of SAS data sets. Currenlty for each data set we have many SAS
programs.  Each time we change our requirements for the SAS data set
we go in and change the SAS code.  I would like to have one generic
peice of SAS code that would read the data assign the SAS lables, and
assign values.   For example, if we have a flat file with column names
that will be different from the SAS lables.  If at sometime we would
like to add new columns or remove coulmns when creating the sAS data
set from a flat file, we dont not want to always change the SAS
program.  Can these instructions be included in a external file?

Please let me know if any of this is possible.

Thank you.