Date:         Mon, 8 Feb 1999 22:08:17 +0100
Reply-To:     "denko000.@wxs" <ela.denko@WXS.NL>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         "denko000.@wxs" <ela.denko@WXS.NL>
Organization: World Access / Planet Internet
Subject:      Re: pimpy question
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Sally,
because total has the value missing. There are many possebilities to
solve this "problem"
Paul
 
Sally McDonald wrote:
>
> Hello again user group, just a simple question that I wouldn't mind a good
> explanation to. If I have a variable called COST:
>
> COST
> 23
> 98
> 35
>
> and I do the statement:
> 1)TOTAL+COST;
>  to accummulate the values of cost in a variable called TOTAL. Why won't the
> statement:
> 2)TOTAL=TOTAL+COST;
> give me the same result.
> I know the PDV sets all new variables created to missing at each execution
> of the datastep, but surely given this, this would also occur for the first
> statement, i.e. TOTAL+COST; where the previous value of TOTAL would not be
> retained but set to missing every time the datastep is iterated??
>
> Can anyone explain this to me?
> Thank-you
> Sally