SAS: Numeric Functions (with Examples)

In this post we will cover various numeric functions in SAS, along with examples.

List of most frequently used numeric functions in SAS

See the syntax of SAS numeric functions including their description.

Functions	Syntax	Description
MIN	var1 = min(x, y, z);	minimum value
MAX	var1 = max(x, y, z);	maximum value
SUM	var1 = sum(x, y, z);	sum
INT	var1 = int(x);	integer portion of a numeric value
ABS	var1 = abs(x);	absolute value
SQRT	var1 = sqrt(x);	square root
MEAN	var1 = mean(x, y, z);	mean
MEDIAN	var1 = median(x, y, z);	median or middle value
ROUND	var1 = round(x, 1);	round the argument to the specified unit
CEIL	var1 = ceil(x);	Smallest integer that is greater than or equal to the argument
FLOOR	var1 = floor(x);	largest integer that is less than or equal to the argument
LOG	var1 = log(x);	log of base e
LOG10	var1 = log10(x);	log of base 10
EXP	var1 = exp(x);	value of the exponential function
LAG	var1 = lag(x);	value in the previous observation
DIF	var1 = dif(x);	difference between the values in the current and previous observations
N	var1 = n(x);	number of non-missing values
NMISS	var1 = nmiss(x);	number of missing values
coalesce	var1 = coalesce(of x1-x3);	It returns the first non-missing value.

Create SAS Dataset

Let's create a sample SAS dataset for the examples in this tutorial.

data have;
input sale1 sale2 sale3;
cards;
12 24 17
25 . 67
20 39 44
34 69 82
;
run;

Difference between SUM Function and + Operator

The SUM function handles missing values when calculating the sum, whereas the + operator does not return SUM if missing value(s) exist in any of the variable.

data want;
set have;
newsale  = sale1 + sale2 + sale3;
newsale1 = sum(sale1, sale2, sale3);
run;

SAS: Difference between SUM Function and + Operator

The above code creates a new SAS dataset named "want" using the "have" dataset as input. Two new variables, "newsale" and "newsale1," are calculated using the sum of "sale1," "sale2," and "sale3." Finally, the "run" statement ends the data step. You may have noticed the second value of "newsale" is blank whereas it is not blank for "newsale1".

How to use Numeric Functions in SAS

data want;
set have;
avg = mean(sale1, sale2, sale3);
middle = median(sale1, sale2, sale3);
count = n(sale1, sale2, sale3);
nonmissing = nmiss(sale1, sale2, sale3);
run;

You can also use the of keyword with a variable range (sale1-sale3) to specify that the functions should be applied to all variables within that range. The code below returns the similar output as output generated from the code shown in the previous section.

data want;
  set have;
  avg = mean(of sale1-sale3);
  middle = median(of sale1-sale3);
  count = n(of sale1-sale3);
  nonmissing = nmiss(of sale1-sale3);
run;

Explanation

avg variable is assigned the mean value of sale1, sale2, and sale3 using the mean function.
middle variable is assigned the median value of sale1, sale2, and sale3 using the median function.
count variable is assigned the count of non-missing values of sale1, sale2, and sale3 using the n function.
nonmissing variable is assigned the count of missing values of sale1, sale2, and sale3 using the nmiss function.

About Author:
Deepanshu Bhalla

Deepanshu founded ListenData with a simple objective - Make analytics easy to understand and follow. He has over 10 years of experience in data science. During his tenure, he worked with global clients in various domains like Banking, Insurance, Private Equity, Telecom and HR.

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