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S=

Valid in:	configuration file, SAS invocation, OPTIONS statement, Systems Options window
Category:	Input Control: INPUTCONTROL

Syntax Description

n | nK | nM | nG

specifies the length of statements and data in terms of bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes, respectively.

MIN

sets the length of statements and data to 0, and requires SAS to use a default value.

MAX

sets the length of statements and data to the largest unsigned, four-byte integer that is representable in your operating environment.

hex

specifies the length of statements and data as a hexadecimal number. This number must be followed by an X.

Details

Input can be from either fixed- or variable-length records. Both fixed-length and variable-length records can be either unsequenced or sequenced. Unsequenced records do not contain sequence fields. Fixed-length sequenced records contain sequence fields at the end of each record. Variable-length sequenced records contain sequence fields at the beginning of each record.

SAS determines whether the input contains sequence numbers that are based on the value of S. If S=0 and you have fixed-length records, SAS inspects the last n columns (where n is the value of the SEQ= option) of the first sequence field, which is at the end of the first line of input. If those columns contain numeric characters, SAS assumes that the file contains sequence fields and ignores the last eight columns of each line.

If S0 or MAX and you have fixed-length records, SAS uses that value as the length of the source or data to be scanned, ignores everything beyond that length on each line, and does not look for sequence numbers.

If S=0 and you have variable-length records, SAS inspects the last n columns (where n is the value of SEQ=) of the first sequence field, which is at the beginning of the first line of input. If those columns contain numeric characters, SAS assumes the file contains sequence fields and ignores the first eight columns of each line.

If S0 or MAX and you have variable-length records, SAS uses that value as the starting column of the source or data to be scanned, ignores everything before that length on each line, and does not look for sequence numbers.

Comparisons

The S= system option operates exactly like the S2= system option except that S2= only controls input from a %INCLUDE statement, an autoexec file, or an autocall macro file.

Operating Environment Information:    The syntax that is shown here applies to the OPTIONS statement. On the command line or in a configuration file, the syntax is specific to your operating environment. For details, see the SAS documentation for your operating environment.  

See Also

System Options: S2= SEQ=

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