SAS Operators

SAS operators are symbols that request a comparison, a logical operation, an arithmetic calculation, or a concatenation.

A SAS expression with no more than one operator is called a simple expression. When an expression includes several operators, it is called a compound expression. When SAS encounters a compound expression, it follows certain rules to determine the order in which to evaluate each part of the expression. See "SAS Expressions" in SAS Language Reference: Concepts for a complete discussion of the rules for evaluating compound expressions.

The following table lists all SAS operators.

Symbols Mnemonic Equivalent Definition Example

**
exponentiation
y=a**2;

₊
positive prefix
y=+(a+b);

_-
negative prefix
z=-(a+b);

ˆ¬ ˜ NOT logical not
if not z then put x;

>< MIN minimum
x=(a><b);

<> MAX maximum
x=(a<>b);

*
multiplication
c=a*b;

/
division
f=g/h;

+
addition
c=a+b;

-
subtraction
f=g-h;

_{|| !!}¦¦
concatenate character values
name= 'J'||'SMITH';

< LT less than
if x<y then c=5;

<= LE less than or equal to
if x le y then a=0;

= EQ equal to
if y eq (x+a) then output;

¬= NE not equal to
if x ne z then output;

>= GE greater than or equal to
if y>=a then output;

> GT greater than
if z>a then output;

IN equal to one of a list
if state in ('NY','NJ','PA') then region='NE';

& AND logical and
if a=b & c=d then x=1;

_{| !}¦ OR logical or
if y=2 or x=3 then a=d;

Symbols	Mnemonic Equivalent	Definition	Example
**		exponentiation	y=a**2;
₊		positive prefix	y=+(a+b);
_-		negative prefix	z=-(a+b);
ˆ¬ ˜	NOT	logical not	if not z then put x;
><	MIN	minimum	x=(a><b);
<>	MAX	maximum	x=(a<>b);
*		multiplication	c=a*b;
/		division	f=g/h;
+		addition	c=a+b;
-		subtraction	f=g-h;
_{\|\| !!}¦¦		concatenate character values	name= 'J'\|\|'SMITH';
<	LT	less than	if x<y then c=5;
<=	LE	less than or equal to	if x le y then a=0;
=	EQ	equal to	if y eq (x+a) then output;
¬=	NE	not equal to	if x ne z then output;
>=	GE	greater than or equal to	if y>=a then output;
>	GT	greater than	if z>a then output;
	IN	equal to one of a list	if state in ('NY','NJ','PA') then region='NE';
&	AND	logical and	if a=b & c=d then x=1;
_{\| !}¦	OR	logical or	if y=2 or x=3 then a=d;