Handbook of SAS DATA Step Programming

141Data Input and Output

8.3 Creating Text Files

The idea behind choosing an optimal output method is similar to choosing

an input method. For example, to generate a text eld in a xed eld, you can

use the column output or formatted output methods. Using the formatted

output method enables you to associate a format with a variable when you

create your output le. To create a free format text le, you can use the list

output method. In addition, you can mix different output methods to create

a text le. Due to these similarities, generating text les in each of the follow-

ing sections will not be presented in detail.

8.3.1 Column Output

The colum ...