SAS Character functions(Part 1):A quick reference

 SAS Character functions(Part 1)

A quick reference

Objective : This article aims at creating a one stop solution for all SAS character functions with explanation and usage examples. This is the first of the two posts on SAS Character functions.

Theory : SAS functions are one of the most useful constructs designed to make our life simple and easy. Here I will try to cover all frequently used SAS character functions with examples. You can also define your own functions and subroutines but that is a separate topic in itself and I will discuss it in a separate post.

Below is the alphabetic list of character functions I have used with a simple examples and usage notes. You can just scroll through to find the function you are searching for.

All the SAS function posts can be found here:
SAS Character function Part 1
SAS Character function Part 2  
SAS Date and Time functions Part 1
SAS Date and Time functions Part 2

Function	Usage	Syntax	Function Example	Returns
ANYALNUM	Searches for the first occurrence of an Alphanumeric character in a string. Second argument gives the position to start the search.	ANYALNUM(String <,startpos>)	Anyalnum("%$#sa1",2)	2
ANYALPHA	Searches for the first occurrence of an Alphabet character in a string. Second argument gives the position to start the search.	ANYALPHA(String <,startpos>)	Anyalpha("%$#sa1",1)	4
ANYDIGIT	Searches for the first occurrence of an Alphabet character in a string. Second argument gives the position to start the search.	ANYDIGIT(String <,startpos>)	Anydigit("%$#sa1",1)	6
ANYLOWER	Searches for the first occurrence of an Alphabet character in a string. Second argument gives the position to start the search.	ANYLOWER(String <,startpos>)	Anylower("%$#sa1",1)	4
ANYPUNCT	Searches for the first occurrence of a punctuation (! " # $ % & ' ( ) * + , - . / : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ] ^ _ ` { | } ~) character in a string. Second argument gives the position to start the search.	ANYPUNCT(String <,startpos>)	Anypunct("%$#sa1",1)	1
ANYSPACE	Searches for the first occurrence of an space(whitespace,tab etc.) in a string. Second argument gives the position to start the search.	ANYSPACE(String <,startpos>)	Anyspace("%$ #sa1",1)	3
ANYUPPER	Searches for the first occurrence of a uppercase character in a string. Second argument gives the position to start the search.	ANYUPPER(String <,startpos>)	Anyupper("%$#sa1",1)	0
CAT	Concatenates two or more character strings.	CAT(str1,str2<,str3>...)	CAT("ABC ","B CD","  DEF")	ABC B CD  DEF
CATS	Concatenates two or more character strings and removes leading and trailing blanks.	CATS(str1,str2<,str3>...)	CATS("ABC ","B CD","  DEF")	ABCB CDDEF
CATT	Concatenates two or more character strings and removes only trailing blanks blanks.	CATT(str1,str2<,str3>...)	CATT("ABC ","B CD","  DEF")	ABCB CD  DEF
CATX	Concatenates two or more character strings. Removes leading and trailing blanks and inserts a charatcter between  strings	CATX(sepaerator,str1,str2<,str3>...)	CATX("-","ABC ","B CD","  DEF")	ABC-B CD-DEF
CHAR	Extracts a character froma string from the position given	CHAR(string,position)	CHAR("HELLO",4)	L
CHOOSEC	Select n numbered string from the list of strings. Based on the location passed as an argument.	CHOOSEC(n,str1,str2,str3)	CHOOSEC(2,"vineet","Naveen","Vybhav")	Naveen
CHOOSEN	Select nth number from the list of numbers based on the location passed as an argument.	CHOOSEN(n,str1,str2,str3)	CHOOSEN(2,2,7,6)	7
COALESCEC	Returns first non-missing value from a list of character values	COALESCEC(char1,char2,char3)	COALESCEC(" ","B","c" )	B
COMPBL	Compresses two or more spaces into one.	COMPBL(string)	COMPBL("leo frank      murthy")	leo frank murthy
COMPRESS	Compresses the characters specified as second arguments from the string passed as first argument	COMPRESS(char_valu,'compress list')	COMPRESS("anandsingh",'as')	nndingh
COUNT	To count the number of times a given substring appears in a string	COUNT(string,search string)	COUNT("Well fell bell","ell")	3
COUNTC	To count the number of individual characters in a string	COUNTC(string,search char list)	COUNTC("Well fell bell","ell")	9
COUNTW	To count number of words in a character value	COUNTW(string<,delimiters>)	COUNTW("Well,fell bell",",")	2
FIND	To locate a substring within a string. We can provide start position, direction of search and can ignore case	FIND(character-value, find-string <,'modifiers'><,start>)	FIND("hi hello hi", "hello")	4
FINDC	To locate a character within a string. We can provide start position, direction of search and can ignore case	FINDC(character-value, find-characters <,'modifiers'><,start>)	FINDC("hi hello hi", "e")	5
FINDW	To locate a word within a string. We can provide delimiter, start position, direction of search and can ignore case	FINDW(character-value, find-word<,delim> <,'modifiers'><,start>)	FINDW("hi hello hi", "hello")	4

Conclusion : This and the next post is not an exhaustive list of all SAS Character functions available but it covers almost all functions you’ll use in day to day job

And a alphabetical list like this can act as your quick reference or you can even print and stick it on your desk for super quick reference.

I have tried my best to eliminate erros but if any please write it as a comment. Suggestion are always welcome.

Will be back with some more topics. Till then goodbye.

Saurabh Singh Chauhan
(er.chauhansaurabh@gmail.com)

Note : If you need an article on a specific topic please post as comment.

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