How to Write Raw Data in SAS – PROC Export, CSV file & Tab Separated File

In the last tutorial, we learned how to read Raw data in SAS, now, in this tutorial, we will be seeing how to write Raw data in SAS Programming Language.

So, let us begin with writing raw data in SAS Programming.

Different Ways to Write Raw Data in SAS

Here, we discuss three ways to write raw data in SAS Programming Language.

i. PROC Export Statement

Using proc export in SAS, you can easily write raw data in SAS to a file with values delimited by commas, tabs, spaces, or other characters. We will go through examples of how to write these out.

data cars; set sashelp.cars; run; 
proc contents data = cars; run;

It will look like this –

Alphabetic List of SAS Variables and Attributes

#    Variable                    Type    Len    Format      Label
9    Cylinders                   Num       8
5    DriveTrain                  Char       5
8    EngineSize                 Num       8                   Engine Size (L)
10   Horsepower               Num       8
7    Invoice                      Num       8                   DOLLAR8.
15   Length                      Num       8                   Length (IN)
11   MPG_City                  Num       8                   MPG (City)
12   MPG_Highway           Num       8                   MPG (Highway)
6    MSRP                        Num       8                   DOLLAR8.
1    Make                        Char       13
2    Model                       Char       40
4    Origin                       Char       6
3    Type                         Char       8
13   Weight                      Num      8                  Weight (LBS)
14   Wheelbase                Num      8                  Wheelbase (IN)

The syntax of the PROC statement:

PROC EXPORT
DATA=libref.SAS data-set (SAS data-set-options)
OUTFILE="filename"
DBMS=identifier LABEL(REPLACE);

Following is the description of the parameters used:

• SAS data-set is the data set name which exports. It uses the inbuilt EXPORT function to out the dataset files in a variety of formats.
• SAS data-set-options is to specify a subset of columns to export.
• Filename is the name of the file to which the data is written.
• Identifier is used to mention the delimiter that will be written into the file.
• LABEL option is used to mention the name of the variables written to the file.

Let us look at the example below:

proc export data=sashelp.cars  
      outfile='D:datacars'
      dbms=dlm;  
      delimiter=' ';
run;

ii. Writing a CSV file

If we wish to write raw data in SAS as a comma-separated file, then we can modify our outfile, specify CSV in the dbms option, and omit the delimiter line.

proc export data=sashelp.cars  
outfile='D:datacars.csv'  
dbms=csv;
run;

Output- Make,Model,Type,Origin,DriveTrain,MSRP,Invoice,EngineSize,Cylinders,Horsepower,MPG_City,MPG_Highway,Weight,Wheelbase,Length Acura,MDX,SUV,Asia,All,”$36,945″,”$33,337″,3.5,6,265,17,23,4451,106,189Acura,RSX Type S 2dr,Sedan,Asia,Front,”$23,820″,”$21,761″,2,4,200,24,31,2778,101,172Acura,TSX 4dr,Sedan,Asia,Front,”$26,990″,”$24,647″,2.4,4,200,22,29,3230,105,183Acura,TL 4dr,Sedan,Asia,Front,”$33,195″,”$30,299″,3.2,6,270,20,28,3575,108,186Acura,3.5 RL 4dr,Sedan,Asia,Front,”$43,755″,”$39,014″,3.5,6,225,18,24,3880,115,197

iii. Writing a Tab Separated File

If we wish to write out our dataset as a tab-separated file, then we can modify our outfile, specify tab in the dbms option, and omit the delimiter line.

proc export data=sashelp.cars 
outfile='D:datacars.txt'  
dbms=tab;
run;

Output- Make  Model Type  Origin     DriveTrain MSRP  Invoice    EngineSize      Cylinders  Horsepower MPG_City   MPG_Highway Weight      Wheelbase  LengthAcura MDX   SUV   Asia  All   $36,945    $33,337    3.5   6     265      17    23    4451  106   189Acura RSX Type S 2dr   Sedan Asia  Front $23,820    $21,761    2     4      200   24    31    2778  101   172Acura TSX 4dr    Sedan Asia  Front $26,990    $24,647    2.4   4      200   22    29    3230  105   183Acura TL 4dr     Sedan Asia  Front $33,195    $30,299    3.2   6      270   20    28    3575  108   186Acura 3.5 RL 4dr Sedan Asia  Front $43,755    $39,014    3.5   6      225   18    24    3880  115   197
This was all on Write Raw data in SAS. Hope you like our explanation.

Summary

So, this section was all about how to write Raw data in SAS, different kinds of Raw datasets in SAS. Hope you all understood it well. Try this out using different datasets and you will find some wonderful results.

Furthermore, if you have any query regarding How to Write Raw Data in SAS, feel free to ask in a comment section.