Don't forget--that to truly simulate the shuffling of cards, that "shuffling" is not "random" (!)

Here's the process: The deck is cut into two relatively equal parts, a top half and a bottom half. They are then "shuffled" together, primarily interleaving--but sometimes two or three or perhaps even four cards from the "TOP" deck stay one-after-the-other in the final deck.

Of course, for the program you are working on, true random might well be good enough. But if you really want to hone your SAS skills, write a "shuffling" routine!

I have one if you really want it, but then what's the point of doing the exercise?

Paul D. McDonald SPIKEware, Inc. ------------------ Free SAS Tutorials and Newsletter http://www.spikeware.com/