Matthew, I must respectfully disagree with everything you have just said ;-) data list / dt (sdate) tm (time). begin data 2011-01-18 00:54:19.000 end data. COMPUTE datetime=dt+tm. FORMATS datetime (DATETIME). list.

DT TM DATETIME

2011/01/18 0:54:01 18-JAN-2011 00:54:01

Number of cases read: 1 Number of cases listed: 1

BTW: If the data were formatted as follows DD-MM-YYYY HH:MM:SS you could read it as a DATETIME variable. data list / dttm (datetime) . begin data 18-01-2011 00:54:19 end data. list. DTTM

. 18-JAN-2011 00:54:19

Number of cases read: 2 Number of cases listed: 2

Pirritano, Matthew-2 wrote: > > "Read the variable in as a string. Not sure if other folks here would > agree but as far as I can tell best practice for reading in data is to > read everything in initially as strings. " > -- >> I can't see why you would believe this! >> If it can be read as a numeric field then do so rather than the overhead >> of converting. > > "You can always change a string to a number but you can't always change a > number to a string. Make > sense?" >> You can NOT always change a string to a NUMBER. Only if the string has >> the appropriate format! > > "Then you can extract info from the string variable. For example you > could create an SPSS readable date variable. You can run the following > (datevar is the new version of the variable, and datestr is the original > string version of the variables):" > > numeric datevar(adate10). > > compute datevar = > date.mdy(number(char.substr(ltrim(rtrim(datestr)),6,2),f2.0), > number(char.substr(ltrim(rtrim(datestr)), 9,2), f2.0), > number(char.substr(ltrim(rtrim(datestr)),1,4), f4.0)). > > exe. > > This will create a variable that looks like 01/18/2011. That's the > American Date format. > > "Don't forget about the rule that you don't overwrite a variable, create > a new revised version." > I'm not sure I would call this a "rule" so much as a personal preference > and some sort of security against code which doesn't work correctly. > > > Matthew Pirritano, Ph.D. > Research Analyst IV > Medical Services Initiative (MSI) > Orange County Health Care Agency > (714) 568-5648 > -----Original Message----- > From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of > John Fiedler > Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 7:47 AM > To: SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU > Subject: Reading Date & Time from CSV File > > I am trying to parse a CSV tile with a time and date variable that looks > like this: > 2011-01-18 00:54:19.000 > What format do I use in my GET DATA command to read this? > Thanks in advance! > JOHN > > John Fiedler > JohnFiedler@oreon.net > Oreon Inc. > 195 Wilderness Way > Boise ID 83716-3383 > www.oreon.net Please visit our evolving website! > +1.208.344.3255 (v) > +1.208.381.0944 (f) > +1.208.344.9979 (h > +1.208.863.3727 (m) No cellular service at or near place of business nor > at > home. > > ===================== > To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to > LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (not to SPSSX-L), with no body text except the > command. To leave the list, send the command > SIGNOFF SPSSX-L > For a list of commands to manage subscriptions, send the command > INFO REFCARD > > ===================== > To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to > LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (not to SPSSX-L), with no body text except the > command. To leave the list, send the command > SIGNOFF SPSSX-L > For a list of commands to manage subscriptions, send the command > INFO REFCARD > >

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