David: I have used SAS SQL to compute constants and assign them to SAS Macrovariables. Unfortunately, I have not found as yet, if one exists, a system NULL dataset that could be used in a FROM clause. Without a FROM clause containing a suitable table reference, SAS SQL will not SELECT an expression into a Macrovariable constant. I have to CREATE a NULL dataset first. Other than that, the program seems easy to use, interpret, and adapt: proc sql; /* Ignore:*/ create table null(_ char(1)); select today() - '01jan03'd into :dtDif from null; quit; %put dtDif=&dtDif; Sig

-----Original Message----- From: SAS(r) Discussion [mailto:SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of David Fickbohm Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 1:00 PM To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU Subject: A Constant in SAS

People, I am working in Windows XP SAS V8.1 I inherited a SAS program that divides a variable by the number of days since jan 1 2003. The method by predecessor used is ugly but works. He divided the first row of the dataset by _N_ or one. Since the first row was Jan 1 2003 data and and he has a row in the dataset for each day since jan 1 2003 and all he wanted was the last row divided by number of days since jan 1 2003 this did works.

I am trying to replace this situation with something more understandable, clearer, etc.

Temporarily I have derived the number of days since jan 1 2003 in the datastep above the datastep where the division of the variable by the number of days since Jan 1 2003 is done. This puts the number of days since jan 1 2003 in the datastep where the division is done.

My question is: Is there someway of deriving the number of days since jan 1, 2003 at the top of the program and then putting that number into a constant variable I can use later in the datastep where the division is done ?

Thanks in Advance Dave

Dave Fickbohm Data Mining Analyst Homegain+ 2450 45th St. Emeryville, CA, 94608 Phone 510 655 0800 ext 4151