| Reading Free-Format Data | |
| Reading Missing Values |
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| Reading Missing Values at the End of a Record
As you've learned, list input imposes some limitations on reading raw data that has missing values. Let's take a look at how to handle missing values at the end of a record. Suppose that the third person represented in the raw data file below did not answer the questions about the number of department store cards and the frequency of use. |
MALE 27 1 8 0 0
FEMALE 3 14 5 10
FEMALE 34 2 10
MALE 35 2 12 4 8
FEMALE 36 4 16 3 7
MALE 21 1 5 0 0
MALE 25 2 9 2 1
FEMALE 21 1 4 2 6
MALE 38 3 11 4 3
FEMALE 30 3 5 1 0
| Because the missing values occur at the end
of the record, you can use the MISSOVER option in the INFILE statement
to read the missing values at the end of the record. The MISSOVER option
prevents SAS from going to another record if, when using list input, it does
not find values in the current line for all the INPUT statement variables.
At the end of the current record, values that are expected
but not found are set to missing.
Simply specify the MISSOVER option in the INFILE statement. The MISSOVER
option prevents the fields in the fourth record from being read as values
for |
data perm.survey;
infile credit missover;
input Gender $ Age Bankcard FreqBank
Deptcard FreqDept;
run;
proc print data=perm.survey;
run;
|
| Obs | Gender | Age | Bankcard | FreqBank | Deptcard | FreqDept |
| 1 | MALE | 27 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | FEMALE | 29 | 3 | 14 | 5 | 10 |
| 3 | FEMALE | 34 | 2 | 10 | . |
. |
| 4 | MALE | 35 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | FEMALE | 36 | 4 | 16 | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | MALE | 21 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
 |
The MISSOVER option only works for missing values that occur at the end of the record. |
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Copyright © 2002 SAS Institute Inc.,
Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved.