Date:         Thu, 15 Jul 2004 10:00:10 -0700
Reply-To:     David Fickbohm <DavidF@HOMEGAIN.COM>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         David Fickbohm <DavidF@HOMEGAIN.COM>
Subject:      A Constant in SAS
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

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