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SAS Functions [13-14]

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RENAME, KEEP & DROP STATEMENTS

RENAME NAM1 = NAM2; KEEP Var1 Var2 Var3; DROP Var4 Var5 Var6;

You can change the name of a variable using the RENAME statement. 

Data Profile; Input First_Name $ Last_Name $ Participants_age; Datalines; Porter Williams 28 Amy Battison 43 John Lim 22 Casey Walson 27 Black Chen 42 Dominic Abraham 24 Mary Katy 18 Tina Kuo 59 Timothy Latino 45 Nigel Benjamin 34 ; Run;

The variable names in this data set (i.e. FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME and PARTICIPANTS_AGE) are particularly long.

We can rename the variable names using the RENAME statement. 

Example

Data Profile2;
Set Profile;
Rename First_Name = First
       Last_Name = Last
       Participants_age = age;
Run;

Note: it is highly recommended to name the variable in no more than 8 characters. 

Long variable name not only takes longer to type but also leads to more programming errors.


KEEP & DROP STATEMENTS

The KEEP and DROP statements allow you to, well, keep and drop variables!

The two examples below create the exact same data set:

Example

Data Profile2;
Set Profile;
Keep First_Name Last_Name;
Run;

Data Profile2;
Set Profile;
Drop Participants_age;
Run;

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Exercise

Locate the MARGARIN data set from the SASHELP library.

The MARGARIN data set contains 7 variables.

Write a SAS program to create a data set that contains only the HOUSEID, CHOICE and BRAND variables. 

Rename the HOUSEID variable to just ID. 

Next

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Need some help? 

Get Hint

HINT:
The KEEP statement is the better function to use when there is a small number of variables to keep in the data set.

Get Solution

SOLUTION:
Data Margarin;
Set SASHelp.Margarin;
Keep HouseID Choice Brand;
Rename HouseID = ID;
Run;

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