Don't feel alone in failing to recognize that the SAS compiler would treat the blanks used to pad the column variable space as significant in the INDEX() comparison. From this I would infer that the string assigned to lname_dmv includes the training blanks. The SAS V6 manual and V8 on-line documentation do not mention this caveat.

A good question for a concepts exam, I'd say, would be one that asks how SAS defines strings (the term used in documentation) for purposes of matching. It appears to me that SAS defines a string as the full contents of a fixed-width storage location referenced by the name of a column variable, including blanks used to pad out the storage location. This means that good SAS programming practice must include trimming of trailing blanks if the value assigned to a column variable does not fill out the length of the location where SAS stores the string.

Sig

-----Original Message----- From: Robert Matthews [mailto:rsm@UAB.EDU] Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 2:11 PM To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU Subject: INDEX question

Can someone please offer some insight into this code. I've used the index function for years, but when I run this program, I expect the value of L2 and F2 to equal 1. Yet the values are zero. I don't understand what is happening. Suggestions?

I'm using v8.2 on Win 2k PRO. data test;

length lname lname_dmv $20 fname fname_dmv $15;

input fname lname fname_dmv lname_dmv;

l1=index(lname_dmv,lname); l2=index(lname,lname_dmv);

f1=index(fname_dmv,fname); f2=index(fname,fname_dmv);

put l1= l2= f1= f2= lname= lname_dmv= fname= fname_dmv=;

cards;

VICTORIA GRADDYWHITE VICTORI GRADDY

;

run;