Hands-On SAS for Data Analysis

Choosing between CALL SYMGET and CALL SYMPUT

In previous chapters, we discussed CALL SYMPUT. As you may recall, CALL SYMPUT was used to transfer DATA step variable values to a macro variable. On many occasions, you will need to transfer values from macro variables to DATA steps. Always remember the following process flow when you're trying to remember if you need to use SYMPUT or SYMGET in coding:

Without the SYMGET function, you will struggle to use macro variables in the DATA step, which includes the DATALINES and CARDS statements. In the previous chapter, we created the CLASS dataset with the ClassID, Year, Age, Height, and Weight variables. ...