| Reading Date and Time Values | |
| How SAS Software Stores Date
Values |
| Before you read date or time values into a SAS data set or use those
values in calculations, you should understand how SAS software stores date
and time values.
When you read a date using a SAS informat, SAS software converts it to a numeric date value. A SAS date value is the number of days from January 1, 1960, to the given date. |
| Here are some examples of how the appropriate SAS informat can convert different expressions for the date January 2, 2000, to a single SAS date value: |
| Date Expression | SAS Date Informat | SAS Date Value |
|---|---|---|
| 02Jan00 | DATEw. | 14611 |
| 01-02-2000 | MMDDYYw. | 14611 |
| 02/01/00 | DDMMYYw. | 14611 |
| 2000/01/02 | YYMMDDw. | 14611 |
| Storing dates and times as numeric values enables you to use dates and times in calculations much as you would any other number. |
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