Thursday, December 4, 2014

My favorite SAS proc: proc freq

No doubt, my favorite proc step is proc freq. It is extremely simple, but therein lies its beauty: it's fast to run and easy to understand. With just two lines of code (almost zero effort), it delivers a set of frequency output for all variables in one printout that anyone can understand, regardless of their involvement with the actual data set. I've found raw proc freq output to be a terrific starting point for conversations on data cleaning or data exploration, no matter who is involved in the conversation:

PROC freq data=NAME;
run;

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Free SAS Date Calculator

SAS Date Calculator*
Date:

Days since 1/1/1960:


*For valid results, SAS date value must be between 1582 CE and 20,000 CE on the Gregorian Calendar. Note that American Colonies and Great Britain did not adopt the Gregorian Calendar until 1752.

To convert a date in Excel, subtract 21,916:

Free SAS Datetime Calculator

SAS Datetime Calculator*
Datetime:

Seconds since midnight 1/1/1960:


*For valid results, SAS date value must be between 1582 CE and 20,000 CE on the Gregorian Calendar. Note that American Colonies and Great Britain did not adopt the Gregorian Calendar until 1752.

To convert a datetime in Excel, subtract 21,916 and multiply by 86,400: