Handbook of SAS DATA Step Programming

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Creating Variables Conditionally

2.1 The IF-THEN/ELSE Statement

Creating variables in the DATA step is an essential task in DATA step pro-

gramming. If the assigned values to the newly created variable are the same

across all the observations, the variable can be created by using the assign-

ment statement. However, in most applications, assigned values are often

different across the records, and these values are generated depending upon

a certain condition. In this situation, a common approach to creating a vari-

able conditionally is to use the IF-THEN/ELSE statement.

2.1.1 Steps for Creating a Variable

When creating a new variable, novice p ...