SAS 9.4 Language Reference, 6th Edition

used to read data originally written with the corresponding native mode formats on an

IBM mainframe.

Note: Anytime a text file originates from anywhere other than the local encoding

environment, it might be necessary to specify the ENCODING= option on either

EBCDIC or ASCII systems. When you read an EBCDIC text file on an ASCII

platform, it is recommended that you specify the ENCODING= option in the

FILENAME or INFILE statement. However, if you use the DSD and the DLM= or

DLMSTR= options on the INFILE statement, the ENCODING= option is a

requirement because these options require certain characters in the session encoding

(such as quotation marks, commas, and blanks). Reserve encoding-specific informats

for use with true binary files that contain both character and non-character fields.

For complete descriptions of all SAS formats and informats, including how numeric

binary data is written, see SAS Formats and Informats: Reference.

Reading Column-Binary Data

Definition

column-binary data storage

is an older form of data storage that is no longer widely used and is not needed by

most SAS users. Column-binary data storage compresses data so that more than 80

items of data can be stored on a single “virtual” punched card. The advantage is that

this method enables you to store more data in the same amount of space. Because

card-image data sets remain in existence, SAS provides informats for reading

column-binary data. See “Description of Column-Binary Data Storage” on page 456

for a more detailed explanation of column-binary data storage.

How to Read Column-Binary Data

To read column-binary data with SAS, you need to know:

• how to select the appropriate SAS column-binary informat

• how to set the RECFM= and LRECL= options in the INFILE statement

• how to use pointer controls

The following table lists and describes SAS column-binary informats.

Table 21.7 SAS Informats for Reading Column-Binary Data

Informat Name Description

$CBw. reads standard character data from column-binary files

CBw. reads standard numeric data from column-binary files

PUNCH.d reads whether a row is punched

ROWw.d reads a column-binary field down a card column

Reading Column-Binary Data 455

To read column-binary data, you must set two options in the INFILE statement:

• Set RECFM= to F for fixed.

• Set the LRECL= to 160, because each card column of column-binary data is

expanded to two bytes before the fields are read.

For example, to read column-binary data from a file, use an INFILE statement in the

following form before the INPUT statement that reads the data:

infile file-specification or path-name

recfm=f

lrecl=160;

Note: The expansion of each column of column-binary data into two bytes does not

affect the position of the column pointer. You use the absolute column pointer

control @, as usual, because the informats automatically compute the true location

on the doubled record. If a value is in column 23, use the pointer control @23 to

move the pointer there.

Description of Column-Binary Data Storage

The arrangement and numbering of rows in a column on physical punched cards

originated with the Hollerith system of encoding characters and numbers. It was based

on using a pair of values to represent either a character or a numeric digit. In the

Hollerith system, each column on a card had a maximum of two punches, one punch in

the zone portion, and one in the digit portion. These punches corresponded to a pair of

values, and each pair of values corresponded to a specific alphabetic character or sign

and numeric digit.

In the zone portion of the punched card (the first three rows), the zone component of the

pair can have the values 12, 11, 0 (or 10), or not punched. In the digit portion of the card

(the fourth through the twelfth rows), the digit component of the pair can have the values

1 through 9, or not punched.

The following figure shows the multi-punch combinations corresponding to letters of the

alphabet.

Figure 21.1 Columns and Rows in a Punched Card

row punch

zone

portion

digit

portion

alphabetic

character

X X X X X X X X

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

12

11

10

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

456 Chapter 21 • Reading Raw Data