Detailed functional analysis explaining the use of the SORTEDBY= option and the PROC CONTENTS and PROC SORT procedures to manage and visualize sorting metadata for SAS© data sets. The examples illustrate scenarios where the sort indicator is added, invalidated, or validated, and explain the implications of each sorting method.
Data Analysis
Type : CREATION_INTERNE
Examples use generated data (datalines) or SASHELP data sets.
1 Code Block
DATA STEP / PROC CONTENTS Data
Explanation :
This example uses the SORTEDBY= option to sort a 'sorttest' data set by 'priority' (descending) and 'indate'. Then, the PROC CONTENTS procedure is used to display the descriptive information of the sorted data set, including the sort indicator.
This example uses the SORTEDBY= option to sort a 'sorttest' data set by 'priority' (descending) and 'indate'. Then, the PROC CONTENTS procedure is used to display the descriptive information of the sorted data set, including the sort indicator.
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| 1 | DATA sorttest (sortedby=priority descending indate); |
| 2 | INPUT priority indate date7. office $ code $; |
| 3 | FORMAT indate date7.; |
| 4 | DATALINES; |
| 5 | 1 03may01 CH J8U |
| 6 | 1 21mar01 LA M91 |
| 7 | 1 01dec00 FW L6R |
| 8 | 1 27feb99 FW Q2A |
| 9 | 2 15jan00 FW I9U |
| 10 | 2 09jul99 CH P3Q |
| 11 | 3 08apr99 CH H5T |
| 12 | 3 31jan99 FW D2W |
| 13 | ; |
| 14 | PROC CONTENTS DATA=sorttest; RUN; |
2 Code Block
PROC CONTENTS
Explanation :
This example uses the PROC CONTENTS procedure to display descriptive information for the SAShelp.Snacks data set. This includes the number of observations, observation length, last modification date of the data set, and other facts, as well as the attributes of individual variables.
This example uses the PROC CONTENTS procedure to display descriptive information for the SAShelp.Snacks data set. This includes the number of observations, observation length, last modification date of the data set, and other facts, as well as the attributes of individual variables.
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| 1 | PROC CONTENTS DATA=sashelp.snacks; |
| 2 | RUN; |
3 Code Block
PROC CONTENTS
Explanation :
This example shows displaying sort information for the Sashelp.Air data set using PROC CONTENTS. The 'Sorted' field indicates 'NO', meaning the data set is not sorted and no sort indicator table is present.
This example shows displaying sort information for the Sashelp.Air data set using PROC CONTENTS. The 'Sorted' field indicates 'NO', meaning the data set is not sorted and no sort indicator table is present.
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| 1 | PROC CONTENTS DATA=sashelp.air; RUN; |
4 Code Block
DATA STEP / PROC CONTENTS
Explanation :
This example creates an 'air' data set from 'sashelp.air' and uses the 'sortedby=air' option in the DATA statement. PROC CONTENTS is then executed, showing that the data set is now marked as sorted, but with 'Validated' as 'NO', because SORTEDBY= does not generate a SAS-validated sort.
This example creates an 'air' data set from 'sashelp.air' and uses the 'sortedby=air' option in the DATA statement. PROC CONTENTS is then executed, showing that the data set is now marked as sorted, but with 'Validated' as 'NO', because SORTEDBY= does not generate a SAS-validated sort.
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| 1 | DATA air(sortedby=air); |
| 2 | SET sashelp.air; |
| 3 | RUN; |
| 4 | |
| 5 | PROC CONTENTS DATA=air; RUN; |
5 Code Block
PROC SORT / PROC CONTENTS
Explanation :
This example sorts the 'air' data set by the 'air' variable in descending order using PROC SORT. Then, PROC CONTENTS is used to display the sort information, including the sort information table and the 'Validated' field set to 'YES', indicating a SAS-validated sort.
This example sorts the 'air' data set by the 'air' variable in descending order using PROC SORT. Then, PROC CONTENTS is used to display the sort information, including the sort information table and the 'Validated' field set to 'YES', indicating a SAS-validated sort.
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| 1 | |
| 2 | PROC SORT |
| 3 | DATA=air; |
| 4 | BY descending air; |
| 5 | |
| 6 | RUN; |
| 7 | PROC CONTENTS |
| 8 | DATA=air; |
| 9 | |
| 10 | RUN; |
| 11 |
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Related Documentation : Data Access
| Sujet / Mot-clé | Lien vers la ressource |
|---|---|
| DOC FedSQL | en/sampleCode/FEDSQL9D66 |
Expert Advice
Michael
Responsable de l'infrastructure Viya.
« In SAS, the sort indicator is a critical piece of metadata stored in the dataset descriptor. It acts as a "signal" to subsequent procedures (like PROC MEANS or MERGE) that the data is already ordered. Managing this indicator correctly is the key to bypassing redundant and resource-heavy sorting operations in large-scale production pipelines. »