Is it possible that Foster needed to search all character vars?

Following tested code illustrates approach to selecting only obs with an unspecified char var that contains both "Minnesota" and "brown":

data a; input (c1 c2) (&$char36.); put _all_; array char _character_; flg=0; drop flg; do over char; if index(char,'Minnesota') and index(char,'brown') then do; flg=1; leave; end; end; if flg then output; cards; brown cow in Minnesota violet aardvard in Hoboken cyan dodo in Oshkosh chartreuse orangutan in Poughkeepsie ; proc print; run;

All warnings re UPCASE/LOWCASE apply ...

Cheers, Puddin'

>>> "Foster Kerrison" <foster@CYBERPORTAL.NET> 04/28/2000 9:02 am >>> Is there a way to "select" a string in a variable in order to select that observation?

For example lets say that the variable content is:

'The brown cow is from Minnesota'.

Can I look for Minnesota in this string, and select this observation as distinct from a cow from Wyoming, or even a black cow? The string (Minnesota/Wyoming/Black cow) could appear anywhere in the variable content?

Foster Kerrison.

***************************************************** *** Puddin' Man *** pudding_man@altavista.com *** *****************************************************;

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