Date:         Fri, 23 Nov 2007 07:12:26 -0500
Reply-To:     "Richard A. DeVenezia" <rdevenezia@WILDBLUE.NET>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         "Richard A. DeVenezia" <rdevenezia@WILDBLUE.NET>
Organization: Internet News Service
Subject:      Re: Can SAS startup option set a macro variable ?
Comments: To: sas-l@uga.edu

nancynpaul-sasl@yahoo.com wrote:
> Hi Richard,
>
> I've only used the -sysparm option for this and then parsed the
> &sysparm macro variable for the values that need to be assigned to
> application macro variables.  I'd be interested your requirements that
> make it necessary to assign values to macro variables at invocation
> time.

In short, a systems startup sequence utilizes code that allows overrides

    %if (&iroot=) %then %let iroot = I: ;

In other words, if a value is already assigned to a macro variable, it will
be left alone.  If I can get the macro variable to take on the value I want
_prior_ to the above statement, then I will have overridden the default.

The solution used was to create a new custom shortcut with a modified target
having
    -autoexec c:\dev\v913\migrationof\foo\testingAutoexec.sas
and have testingAutoexec.sas contain
    %let IROOT=c:\dev\v913\migrationof\foo;
    %include "autoexec.sas";

Things were additionally complicated because all this has to be performed
automagically by a script that executes a migration and writes the testing
autoexec and shortcut to start the migrated system.

--
Richard A. DeVenezia
http://www.devenezia.com/