Peter I recommend the following papers for your review:

1. Hands-On Workshop List Processing Basics: Creating and Using Lists of Macro Variables * Ronald J. Fehd * Art Carpenter

Tiny Url: http://tinyurl.com/5p3j2z for this page

http://www.sascommunity.org/wiki/List_Processing_Basics_Creating_and_Usi ng_Lists_of_Macro_Variables

http://tinyurl.com/6mmqpj for paper

http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/forum2007/113-2007.pdf

SGF 2007, paper 113, section: Hands On Workshops

2. SmryEachVar: A Data Review Suite For Each Variable in All Data Sets in a Libref paper http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/forum2008/003-2008.pdf

TinyUrl for this page: http://tinyurl.com/5682j8

http://www.sascommunity.org/wiki/SmryEachVar_A_Data_Review_Suite

Both of these papers illustrate the problem you are discussing:

* building a subroutine: either a macro or a parameterized include file

* use data set as list of parameters to call subroutine

Ron Fehd the macro maven CDC Atlanta GA USA RJF2 at cdc dot gov