Returns the last word from a delimited list

/*--------------------------------------------------------------* * Name: lastword.sas * * Title: Return the last word from a delimited list of words * Doc: http://www.datavis.ca/sasmac/lastword.html *--------------------------------------------------------------* * Author: Michael Friendly <friendly @yorku.ca> * * Created: 26 Jan 2006 10:51:43 * * Revised: 26 Jan 2006 10:51:43 * * Version: 1.0 * * *--------------------------------------------------------------*/ /*= =Description: The LASTWORD macro returns the last word from a delimited list of words. This is useful for some generic forms of DATA Step BY processing with first. and last. BY processing. ==Method: In Version 8+, it uses the %scan function in the form %scan(&words,-1,&sep) The original version of this macro is by Richard A. DeVenezia. =Usage: The LASTWORD macro is defined with positional parameters. The first parameter is required for any useful result. The macro is often used in a %LET statement, in the form %let lastclass = %lastword(&class); ==Parameters: * WORDS A list of words separated by something * SEP The word separator. [Default: SEP=%STR( )] ==Example: %let string= Able Baker Charlie; %put Last word of "&string" is "%lastword(&string)"; %let classvar = Treatment Poison; data test; set animals; by &classvar; if first.%lastword(&classvar) then do; ... end; =*/ %macro lastword( words, sep=%str( ) ); %* Richard A. DeVenezia - 940729; *% %* %* extract last word from list of words separated by a specified character; *% %* %* words - original list of words, separated with something; *% %*; %local N W; %if %sysevalf(&sysver >= 8) %then %do; %let W = %scan(&words, -1, %quote(&sep)); %end; %else %do; %let N=1; %let W=%scan(&words,&N,%quote(&sep)); %let N=2; %do %while (%scan(&words,&N,%quote(&sep))^=); %let W=%scan(&words,&N,%quote(&sep)); %let N=%eval(&N+1); %end; %end; &W %mend;