Date:         Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:33:58 -0500
Reply-To:     Mike Rhoads <RHOADSM1@WESTAT.COM>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Mike Rhoads <RHOADSM1@WESTAT.COM>
Subject:      NOFMTERR no longer needed when formats are unavailable?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Folks,

For many years now, I have been under the impression that the NOFMTERR system option was the only practical way to deal with situations where a SAS data set had user-created formats associated with some or all variables, and the corresponding format catalog was not available.

However, one of my Westat colleagues recently brought the following to my attention:

JOB 1 (create a data set and associate a user-written format with a variable)

libname  library  'c:\junk\';
proc format  library=library;
value $sexf
  'M' = 'Male'
  'F' = 'Female'
;
data  library.class;
set   sashelp.class;
format sex $sexf.;
run;

JOB 2

1          libname  junk  'c:\junk\';
NOTE: Libref JUNK was successfully assigned as follows:
      Engine:        V9
      Physical Name: c:\junk
2
3          %PUT Value of FMTERR option is %sysfunc(getoption(fmterr));
Value of FMTERR option is FMTERR
4          data  tempclass;
5          set   junk.class;
6          format _ALL_;
7          run;

NOTE: There were 19 observations read from the data set JUNK.CLASS.
NOTE: The data set WORK.TEMPCLASS has 19 observations and 5 variables.

As the saying might go, "Look, Ma, no errors or warnings!"  format sex; also works.

Did this always work, meaning that I am losing brain cells much more rapidly than I had feared?  Or is this a relatively new development?  (This was run using SAS 9.1.3 under WinXP.)


Mike Rhoads
RhoadsM1@Westat.com