Jeff: This solution has a crippling limitation, but it has other virtues of interest. The maximum number of table references in a SAS V8.2 SQL query is 32. If that number increases in future versions, a view of the unions of a dataset to itself would produce the data you require:

data test; tag='XXXXXXXX'; value='YYYYYYYY'; run; %let __n=31; filename tmp 'c:\Windows\temp\tmp.sas'; data _null_; file tmp; put ' proc sql; create view tempvw as select * from ' / ' (select * from work.test) ' ; do i=1 to &__n; put ' union all ' / ' (select * from work.test) ' ; end; put '; quit;'; run; %inc tmp; proc freq data=tempvw; table tag value/list; run;

A view gives you a virtual dataset, but occupies only the space required to store a program. This program also illustrates a method for using a SAS datastep to write a SAS program. Sig -----Original Message----- From: Jeff Cohen [mailto:jcohen@AESSUCCESS.ORG] Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2003 9:10 AM To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU Subject: Setting Dataset Multiple Times

Is there a way to create dataset A by setting dataset B multiple times, with the number of times dynamically determined? On the first run the dataset will be set 37 times, based on a number in the first observation. That number can and will change on subsequent runs, sometimes up and sometimes down.