Introduction
Raw data can be organized in several ways.

This external file contains data that is arranged in columns, or fixed fields. You can specify a beginning and ending column for each field.

1---+----10---+----20---+----30--

BIRD FEEDER    LG088   3  20

GLASS MUGS     SB082   6  12

GLASS TRAY     BQ049  12   6

PADDED HANGRS  MN256  15  20

JEWELRY BOX    AJ498  23   0

RED APRON      AQ072   9  12

CRYSTAL VASE   AQ672  27   0

PICNIC BASKET  LS930  21   0

By contrast, the following external file contains data that is free-format, meaning data that is not arranged in columns. Notice that the values for a particular field do not begin and end in the same columns.

1---+----10---+----20---+----30--

ABRAMS L.MARKETING $18,209.03

BARCLAY M.MARKETING $18,435.71

COURTNEY W.MARKETING $20,006.16

FARLEY J.PUBLICATIONS $21,305.89

HEINS W.PUBLICATIONS $20,539.23

How your data is organized determines which input style you should use to read the data. SAS provides three primary input styles: column, formatted, and list input. This lesson teaches you how to use list input to read free-format data that is not arranged in fixed fields.

Setting Up Filerefs for Practices in This Lesson

Time to Complete

This lesson contains pages and takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

Objectives

In this lesson, you learn to use the INPUT statement with list input to read

free-format data (data that is not organized in fixed fields)
free-format data that is separated by nonblank delimiters, such as commas
free-format data that contains missing values
character values that exceed eight characters
nonstandard free-format data
character values that contain embedded blanks.

In addition, you learn how to mix column, formatted, and list input styles in a single INPUT statement.

Prerequisites

Before taking this lesson, you should complete the following lessons:


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