Date:         Mon, 21 Aug 2006 08:03:07 +0800
Reply-To:     Scott Bass <sas_l_739.at.yahoo.dot.com.dot.au@PESTO.CC.UGA.EDU>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Scott Bass <sas_l_739.at.yahoo.dot.com.dot.au@PESTO.CC.UGA.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Function and CALL routines.
Comments: To: sas-l@uga.edu

This may help a bit:
http://support.sas.com/onlinedoc/913/getDoc/en/lrcon.hlp/a002612373.htm

Now don't quote me on this, I could be wrong, etc, but I believe that, at a
low level, call routines are written differently than functions, have
different hooks into the rest of the SAS System, and that "CALL" is a
trigger to the compiler to do the right thing.  It's just the way SAS is
architected.

Yes, it may be confusing, but that's why you'll make the big bucks once you
learn it ;-)

"Raj" <ramesh.chakri@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1156114315.777425.99970@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
> So can it be assumed that CALL Routines are functions that do not
> return any values!!?
>
>
> kenneth_m_lin@sbcglobal.net wrote:
>> Note that CALL SYMPUT doesn't return a value to the DATA STEP.  Functions
>> like SUM and TRIM results in creation or modification of a field in that
>> dataset.
>>
>> For example,
>>
>> x = sum(a, b, c)
>>
>> CALL SYMPUT creates a macro variable that exist outside of that dataset.
>>
>> "Raj" <ramesh.chakri@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1156092868.717133.313440@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>> > Why some are functions and some are CALL routines in SAS.
>> > CALL SYMPUT(.., ..);
>> >
>> > Why can not it be just called SYMPUT(..., ..) with out preseding by
>> > CALL like SUM TRIM functions?
>> >
>> > How to distinguish between CALLs and SAS Functions .. Man it is
>> > confusing!! Any intellectual insight is ppreciated.
>> >
>> > Thanks gang,
>> >
>