Review: List, Column and Formatted Input
We'll take a look at a number of examples here and throughout the course. For the sake of simplicity, whenever possible, we'll read in data internally using a DATALINES statement rather than externally using an INFILE statement. This is the lazy learner's way as it will save us from having to download the data file, save the file on our computers, and edit the INFILE statement to reflect the location of the file. Be aware though that, in practice, nine times out of ten, we'll read data externally using an INFILE statement. And, we're pretty sure that that's why the authors of the textbook chose to read in data externally in nine out of ten of their examples!
Reading Raw Data Separated by Spaces
The examples in this section parallel the examples in the LSB section titled "Reading Raw Data Separated by Spaces."
Example 1.1. Reading data into SAS using list input. The
following SAS program illustrates a simple example of using list input to
read in the weight and three jumping distances of six toads:
As promised above, the SAS code has been modified just so that we can read the data internally using the DATALINES statement rather than in an external data file using an INFILE statement. Oh, we also adhered to good programming habit by adding a RUN statement to close out the DATA step.
Launch and run 
the SAS program. Review the output to convince yourself that SAS read in
the data as the textbook promised. And, make sure you look for the note
in the SAS log concerning going to a new line when the INPUT statement reached
past the end of a line.
Example 1.2. Reading data into SAS using list input. Here's
another SAS program that illustrates a simple example of using list input
to read in the subject number, name, gender, weight, and height of five
individuals:
Launch and run
the SAS program, and review the output to convince yourself that SAS read
in the data as expected.
Reading Raw Data Arranged in Columns
The examples in this section parallel the examples in the LSB section titled "Reading Raw Data Arranged in Columns."
Example 1.3. Reading data into SAS using column input. The following
SAS program illustrates a simple example of using column input to read in
data concerning onion ring sales at a minor league baseball stadium:
Again, the SAS code has been modified just so that we can read the data
internally using the DATALINES statement rather than in an external data
file using an INFILE statement. In doing so, note that the each record starts
in the leftmost column, i.e., in column 1, so that the column numbers
agree with those in the textbook. Launch and run
the SAS program. Review the output to convince yourself that SAS read in
the data as the textbook promised.
Reading Raw Data Not in Standard Format
The examples in this section parallel the examples in the LSB section titled "Reading Raw Data Not in Standard Format."
Example 1.4. Reading data into SAS using formatted input.
The following SAS program illustrates a simple example of using formatted
input to read in data concerning results from a local pumpkin-carving contest:
Launch and run
the SAS program. Review the output to convince yourself that SAS read in
the data as the textbook promised. Also, note that since the variable Date
was not formatted for output, the dates appear in the SAS data set as the
number of days since January 1, 1960. Recall that in order to tell SAS to
print dates that make sense to us, we need to format dates. We can do so
here by adding the following FORMAT statement after the INPUT statement
and before the DATALINES statement:
FORMAT Date mmddyy10.;
Go ahead and add the FORMAT statement, re-run
the SAS program, and take a look at the output to see for yourself.
The LSB section titled "Selected Informats" provides a good list of commonly used informats along with the width range and default width. You might want to flag the section in some way so that you can refer back to it as necessary.