Date:         Fri, 21 Jun 1996 17:43:50 GMT
Reply-To:     Laura Aaronson <aaronsonlm@ZEN.COM>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         Laura Aaronson <aaronsonlm@ZEN.COM>
Organization: Zeneca Inc.
Subject:      Re: Help on re-ordering variables in a dataset.

Ron Carpenter <rcarpen@hookup.net> wrote:
>gkeeler@psych.mc.duke.edu wrote:
>>
>> I need to re-order the variables in a dataset, in order to import them
correctly
>> details snipped
>> Does anyone know of an easier way to re-order the variables in a SAS
dataset,
>
>To re-order the variables, you define them before you read them in a SET
>statement.
>
>DATA TEST;
> LENGTH A $ 8 B $ 4 C $ 8 X 4 Y Z 8;
> SET TEST;
>RUN;
>
 
This is an ideal case for using RETAIN instead of LENGTH.
Simple, no unwanted side-effects of RETAIN...
Saves time, because you don't have to specify type or length:
 
DATA TEST;
   RETAIN A B C X Y Z;
   SET TEST;
RUN;
 
Laura M. Aaronson (aaronsonlm@zen.com)
Someday I'll have a snappy .SIG file...