Hands-On SAS Macro Programming Tips and Techniques

Kirk Paul Lafler, Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, California

Abstract

The SAS Macro Language is a powerful feature for extending the capabilities of the SAS System. This presentation highlights a
collection of techniques for constructing reusable and effective macros tools. Attendees are introduced to the techniques
associated with building functional macros that process statements containing SAS code; design reusable macro techniques;
create macros containing keyword and positional parameters; utilize defensive programming tactics and techniques; build a
library of macro utilities; interface the macro language with the SQL procedure; and develop efficient and portable macro
language code.

Introduction
The Macro Language is an extension to the SAS System which provides the capability to develop SAS statement text. It consists of its
own set of statements, options, functions, and has its own compiler. When programming with macro statements, the resulting
program is called a MACRO. The Macro Language has its own rules for using the various statements and parameters. The Macro
environment can be thought of as a lower level (3rd Generation) programming environment within the SAS System.

Macro Language Basics

The macro language provides an additional set of tools to: 1) communicate between SAS steps, 2) construct executable and reusable
code, 3) design custom languages, 4) develop user-friendly routines, and 5) conditionally execute DATA or PROC steps.
When a program is run, the SAS System first checks to see if a macro statement exists. If the program does not contain any
macro statements, then processing continues as normal with the DATA or PROC step processor. If the program does contain
one or more macro statements, then the macro processor must first execute them. The result of this execution is the
production of character information, macro variables, or SAS statements, which are then be passed to the DATA or PROC step
processor. The control flow of a macro process appears in Figure 1 below.
The SAS System Log displays information about the compilation and execution of a SAS program. This information is a vital part of
any SAS execution which when viewed provides information about: 1) What statements were executed, 2) What SAS System data
sets were created, 3) The number of variables and observations each data set contains, and 4) The time and memory expended by
each DATA and PROC step.

Figure 1. Macro Program Control Flow.

The Anatomy of a Macro

Every macro begins with a %MACRO and must contain a name for the macro. To close a macro, a %MEND is used and can optionally
specify the macro name for documentation reasons. Macro text can include any of the following information:

Constant Text

Macro Variables

Macro Functions

Macro Program Statements

Macro Expressions

Constant Text
The macro language treats constant text as character strings. Examples include:

SAS Data Set Names

SAS Variable Names

SAS Statements

Macro Variables
Macro variables (symbolic variables) are not DATA step variables, but belong to the SAS System macro language. Symbolic variables,
once defined, can take on many different values during the execution of a macro program. Basic rules that apply to the naming of
symbolic variables are:

A name can be one to eight characters in length

A name must begin with a character (A-Z) or underscore (_)

Letters, numbers, and underscores can follow the first character

Basic rules that apply to the use of symbolic variables include:

Values range from 0 to 65,534 characters in length

The number of characters assigned to a macro variable determines its length no length declaration is made

Leading and trailing blanks are not stored with the value

May be referenced (called) inside or outside of a macro by immediately prefixing an ampersand (&) before the name

The macro processor replaces (substitutes) the symbolic variable with the value of the symbolic variable

A couple examples are provided to help clarify the creation and use of macro variables.
References Inside a Macro:
%LET NAME=USERFILE.MASTER;
%MACRO M;
PROC MEANS DATA=&NAME;
RUN;
%MEND M;

References Outside a Macro:

PROC PRINT DATA=&NAME;
RUN;

Macro Functions
Macro functions are available to process text in macros and with macro variable values. Some macro functions are associated with
DATA step functions while others are used only in the macro processor. You may notice a similarity between DATA step functions
and macro functions. To illustrate how macro functions can be used, a few examples are shown below.
Examples:
%INDEX(argument1,argument2)
%STR(argument)
%UPCASE(argument)
%BQUOTE(argument)

Macro Program Statements

The macro language provides a powerful language environment for users to construct and use macro programs. There are a number
of Macro program statements, many of which resemble DATA step statements in use and functionality. Macro program statements
are available to instruct the macro processor what to do. Each statement begins with a percent sign (%) and is terminated with a
semi-colon (;). The statements are executed by the macro processor and then passed to either the DATA or PROC step for processing.
Examples:
%DO;
%END;
%GLOBAL macro-variable;
%MACRO name[(parameters)/STMT];

Macro Expressions
Macro expressions consist of macro statements, macro variable names, constant text, and/or function names combined together.
Their purpose is to tie processing operations together through the use of operators and parentheses.
Examples:
IF &TOTAL > 999 THEN WEIGHT=WEIGHT+1;
&CHAR = %LENGTH(&SPAN)
&COUNT = %EVAL(&COUNT + 1);

Tip #1 Debugging a Macro with SAS System Options

The SAS System offers users a number of useful system options to help debug macro issues and problems. The results
associated with using macro options are automatically displayed on the SAS Log. Specific options related to macro debugging
appear in alphabetical order in the following table.

SAS Option

Description

MACRO
MEMERR
MEMRPT
MERROR
MLOGIC
MPRINT
SYMBOLGEN

Specifies that the macro language SYMGET and SYMPUT functions be available.
Controls Diagnostics.
Specifies that memory usage statistics be displayed on the SAS Log.
Presents Warning Messages when there are misspellings or when an undefined macro is called.
Macro execution is traced and displayed on the SAS Log for debugging purposes.
SAS statements generated by macro execution are traced on the SAS Log for debugging purposes.
Displays text from expanding macro variables to the SAS Log.

Tip #2 Using the Autocall Facility to Call a Macro

Macro programs can be stored as SAS programs in a location in your operating environment and called on-demand using the
built-in autocall facility. Macro programs stored this way are defined once, and referenced (or called) anytime needed. This
provides an effective way to store and manage your macro programs in a library aggregate. To facilitate the autocall
environment, you will need to specify the SAS System options presented in the following table.

SAS Option

Description

MAUTOSOURCE

Turns on the Autocall Facility so stored macro programs are included in the search for macro
definitions.
Turns on the capability to search stored macro programs when a macro is not found.
Specifies the location of the stored macro programs.

MRECALL
SASAUTOS=

Tip #3 Accessing the SAS Institute-supplied Autocall Macros

Users may be unaware that SAS Institute has provided as part of your SAS software an autocall library of existing macros. These
autocall macros are automatically found in your default SASAUTOS fileref. For example, the default location of the SASAUTOS
fileref under Windows XP Professional on my computer is c:\program files\sas\sas 9.1\core\sasmacro. Readers are encouraged
to refer to the SAS Companion manual for the operating environment you are running under for further details.
Numerous SAS-supplied autocall macros are included many of which act and behave as macro functions. It is worth
mentioning that these autocall macros provide a wealth of effective coding techniques and can be useful as a means of
improving macro coding prowess in particular for those users who learn by example. The following table depicts an alphabetical
sampling of the SAS Institute-supplied autocall macros for SAS 9.1.

SASAUTOS
Macro Name
%CHNGCASE
%CMPRES
%DATATYP
%LEFT
%LOWCASE
%SYSRC
%TRIM
%VERIFY

SASAUTOS Macro Description

This macro is used in the change dialog box for pmenus.
This macro returns the argument passed to it in an unquoted form with multiple blanks compressed to
single blanks and also with leading and trailing blanks removed.
The DATATYP macro determines if the input parameter is NUMERIC or CHARacter data, and returns
either CHAR or NUMERIC depending on the value passed through the parameter.
This macro returns the argument passed to it without any leading blanks in an unquoted form.
This macro returns the argument passed to it unchanged except that all upper-case alphabetic characters
are changed to their lower-case equivalents.
This macro returns a numeric value corresponding to the mnemonic string passed to it and should only
be used to check return code values from SCL functions.
This macro returns the argument passed to it without any trailing blanks in an unquoted form.
This macro returns the position of the first character in the argument that is not in the target value.

To help illustrate a SASAUTOS macro, we will display the contents of the %TRIM autocall macro below. The purpose of the
%TRIM autocall macro is to remove (or trim) trailing blanks from text and return the result.

%TRIM AUTOCALL Macro

%macro trim(value);
%*********************************************************************;
%* MACRO: TRIM
*;
%*
*;
%* USAGE: 1) %trim(argument)
*;
%*
*;
%* DESCRIPTION:
*;
%*
This macro returns the argument passed to it without any
*;
%*
trailing blanks in an unquoted form. The syntax for its use
*;
%*
is similar to that of native macro functions.
*;
%*
*;
%*
Eg. %let macvar=%trim(&argtext)
*;
%*
*;
%* NOTES:
*;
%*
None.
*;
%*********************************************************************;
%local i;
%do i=%length(&value) %to 1 %by -1;
%if %qsubstr(&value,&i,1)^=%str( ) %then %goto trimmed;
%end;
%trimmed: %if &i>0 %then %substr(&value,1,&i);
%mend;

Tip #4 Compiling a Stored Macro with the Compiled Macro Facility

A macro can be compiled once and the compiled version stored so it can be used over and over again. This approach saves time
and resources because the macro does not have to be compiled each time it is called. To take advantage of this time-saving
approach, you will need to either verify and/or turn on the SAS System options: MSTORED and SASMSTORE. You will also need
to specify the / STORE option of the %MACRO statement. It is worth mentioning that during macro compilation only macro
statements are compiled, so be aware that non-macro text and macro references are not evaluated during the compilation
phase but during macro execution.

SAS Option

Description

MSTORED
SASMSTORE=

Turns on the Compiled Macro Facility so you can take advantage of this feature.
Specifies the libref associated with the SAS catalog, SASMACR, of stored compiled macros.

Tip #5 Streamlining Command-line DMS Commands with a Macro

The macro language is a wonderful tool for streamlining frequently entered SAS Display Manager System (DMS) commands to
reduce the number of keystrokes. By embedding a series of DMS commands inside a simple macro, youll not only save by not
having to enter them over and over again, but youll improve your productivity as well. The following macro code illustrates a
series of DMS commands being strung together in lieu of entering them individually on a Display Manager command line. The
commands display and expand the SAS Log to full size respectively, and then position the cursor at the top of the log. Once the
macro is defined, it can be called by entering %POSTSUBMIT on any DMS command line to activate the commands.
Macro Code
%MACRO postsubmit;
Log;
Clear;
Zoom;
Pgm;
%MEND postsubmit;

Tip #6 Assigning a Defined Macro to a Function Key

To further reduce keystrokes and enhance user productivity even further, a call to a defined macro can be saved to a Function
Key. The purpose for doing this would be to allow for one-button operation of any defined macro. To illustrate the process of
saving a macro call to a Function Key, the %POSTSUBMIT macro defined in the previous tip is assigned to Function Key F12 in
the KEYS window. The partial KEYS window is displayed to illustrate the process.
KEYS Window
Key
F1
F2
F3
...
F10
F11
F12

Definition
help
reshow
end;
...
keys
command focus
%POSTSUBMIT

Tip #7 Defining Positional Parameters

Macros are frequently designed to allow the passing of one or more parameters. This allows the creation of macro variables so
text strings can be passed into the macro. The order of macro variables as positional parameters is specified when the macro is
coded. The assignment of values for each positional parameter is supplied at the time the macro is called.
To illustrate the definition of a two positional parameter macro, the following macro was created to display all table names
(data sets) that contain the variable TITLE in the user-assigned MYDATA libref as a cross-reference listing. To retrieve the
needed type of information, you could execute multiple PROC CONTENTS against selected tables. Or in a more efficient
method, you could retrieve the information directly from the read-only Dictionary table COLUMNS with the selected columns
LIBNAME, MEMNAME, NAME, TYPE and LENGTH, as shown. For more information about Dictionary tables, readers may want to
view the free SAS Press Webinar by Kirk Paul Lafler at http://support.sas.com/publishing/bbu/webinar.html#lafler2 or the
published paper by Kirk Paul Lafler, Exploring Dictionary Tables and SASHELP Views.
Macro Code
%MACRO COLUMNS(LIB, COLNAME);
PROC SQL;
SELECT LIBNAME, MEMNAME, NAME, TYPE, LENGTH
FROM DICTIONARY.COLUMNS
WHERE UPCASE(LIBNAME)="&LIB" AND
UPCASE(NAME)="&COLNAME" AND
UPCASE(MEMTYPE)="DATA";
QUIT;
%MEND COLUMNS;
%COLUMNS(MYDATA,TITLE);

After Macro Resolution

PROC SQL;
SELECT LIBNAME, MEMNAME, NAME, TYPE, LENGTH
FROM DICTIONARY.COLUMNS
WHERE UPCASE(LIBNAME)="MYDATA" AND
UPCASE(NAME)="TITLE" AND
UPCASE(MEMTYPE)="DATA";
QUIT;

Output

Library
Name
MYDATA
MYDATA
MYDATA
MYDATA
MYDATA

Member Name
ACTORS
MOVIES
PG_MOVIES
PG_RATED_MOVIES
RENTAL_INFO

Column Name
Title
Title
Title
Title
Title

Column
Type
char
char
char
char
char

Column
Length
30
30
30
30
30

Now lets examine another useful macro that is designed with a positional parameter. The following macro is designed to
accept one positional parameter called &LIB. When called, it accesses the read-only Dictionary table TABLES to display each
table name and the number of observations in the user-assigned MYDATA libref. This macro provides a handy way to quickly
determine the number of observations in one or all tables in a libref without having to execute multiple PROC CONTENTS by
using the stored information in the Dictionary table TABLES.
Macro Code
%MACRO NUMROWS(LIB);
PROC SQL;
SELECT LIBNAME, MEMNAME, NOBS
FROM DICTIONARY.TABLES
WHERE UPCASE(LIBNAME)="&LIB" AND
UPCASE(MEMTYPE)="DATA";
QUIT;
%MEND NUMROWS;
%NUMROWS(MYDATA);

After Macro Resolution

PROC SQL;
SELECT LIBNAME, MEMNAME, NOBS
FROM DICTIONARY.TABLES
WHERE UPCASE(LIBNAME)="MYDATA" AND
UPCASE(MEMTYPE)="DATA";
QUIT;

Output

Library
Name
MYDATA
MYDATA
MYDATA
MYDATA
MYDATA
MYDATA

Number of Physical
Observations
22
3
22
7
13
13

Member Name
MOVIES
CUSTOMERS
MOVIES
PATIENTS
PG_MOVIES
PG_RATED_MOVIES

Tip #8 Referencing Macro Variables Indirectly

In each of the previous examples, a macro variable began with a single ampersand, for example, &macroname. When
referenced, a macro variable defined this way is resolved using a direct approach by the macro facility to an assigned value.
Although this represents the most common approach to defining and referencing a macro variable, it is not the only way a
macro variable can be referenced. An alternate, and more dynamic approach supported by the macro facility is its ability to
handle compound expressions consisting of a macro variable beginning with, as well as containing embedded ampersands, for
example, &&TYPE&n.
Using indirect macro variable references, the next example illustrates a call to a macro containing an iterative %DO loop. The
macro variable RATING1 through RATING5 contains the values G, PG, PG-13, PG-17, and R. To resolve the macro references in
macro RATING, the macro processor first resolves the entire reference from left to right, resolving any pair of ampersands to a
single ampersand followed by processing the next part of the reference. The macro processor then returns to the beginning of
the preliminary result, resolving from left to right and continuing the process over again, as before, until all ampersands have
been fully processed and the resulting macro variable produced.
Macro Code
%LET RATING1 = G;
%LET RATING2 = PG;
%LET RATING3 = PG-13;
%LET RATING4 = PG-17;
%LET RATING5 = R;
%MACRO RATING(STOP);
%DO N=1 %TO &STOP;
%PUT &&RATING&N;
%END;
%MEND RATING;
%RATING(3);

Output
G
PG
PG-13

Conclusion
The macro language provides SAS users with a powerful language environment for constructing a library of powerful tools,
routines, and reusable programs. It offers a comprehensive set of statements, options, functions, and has its own compiler. Once
written and debugged macro programs can be stored in a location on your operating environment that can be referenced and
accessed using an autocall macro environment. Macros can also be compiled providing for a more efficient process for executing
macros because the macro does not have to be compiled over and over again. Finally, users are able to design and construct reusable
macro tools that can be used again and again.

References
Burlew, Michele M. (1998), SAS Macro Programming Made Easy, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.
Carpenter, Art (2004), Carpenters Complete Guide to the SAS Macro Language, Second Edition. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC,
USA.

Lafler, Kirk Paul (2013), Hands-on SAS Macro Programming Tips and Techniques, Proceedings of the 2013 Western Users of
SAS Software (WUSS) Conference, Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, CA, USA.

Lafler, Kirk Paul (2013), Hands-on SAS Macro Programming Tips and Techniques, Proceedings of the 2013 MidWest SAS Users
Group (MWSUG) Conference, Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, CA, USA.

Lafler, Kirk Paul (2013), Hands-on SAS Macro Programming Tips and Techniques, Proceedings of the 2013 SAS Global Forum
(SGF) Conference, Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, CA, USA.

Lafler, Kirk Paul (2012), SAS Macro Programming Tips and Techniques, Proceedings of the 2012 PharmaSUG Conference,
Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, CA, USA.

Lafler, Kirk Paul (2012), Building ReusableTools with the SAS Macro Language, Proceedings of the 2012 SAS Global Forum
(SGF) Conference, Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, CA, USA.

Lafler, Kirk Paul (2009), Building Reusable and Highly Effective Tools with the SAS Macro Language, PharmaSUG 2009
Conference, Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, CA, USA.

Lafler, Kirk Paul (2008), Building Reusable SAS Macro Tools, Michigan SAS Users Group 2008 Conference, Software
Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, CA, USA.
Lafler, Kirk Paul (2007), SAS Macro Programming Tips and Techniques, Proceedings of the NorthEast SAS Users Group
(NESUG) 2007 Conference, Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, CA, USA.
Lafler, Kirk Paul (2009), SAS System Macro Language Course Notes, Fifth Edition. Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring
Valley, CA, USA.
Lafler, Kirk Paul (2007), SAS System Macro Language Course Notes, Fourth Edition. Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring
Valley, CA, USA.
Lafler, Kirk Paul (2008), Exploring DICTIONARY Tables and SASHELP Views, Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, CA,
USA.
Lafler, Kirk Paul (2006), Exploring DICTIONARY Tables and SASHELP Views, Software Intelligence Corporation, Spring Valley, CA,
USA.
Lafler, Kirk Paul (2004), PROC SQL: Beyond the Basics Using SAS, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.
Roberts, Clark (1997), Building and Using Macro Variable Lists, Proceedings of the Twenty-second Annual SAS Users Group
International Conference, San Diego, CA, 441-443.

SAS Macro Language: Reference, SAS OnlineDoc 9.2, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.

Acknowledgments
I want to thank Kenny Bissett and Lizette Alonzo, SCSUG 2013 Conference Chairs for accepting my abstract and paper, as well as
the SCSUG Executive and Conference Committees, and SAS Institute for organizing a great conference!

Trademarks Citations
SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the
USA and other countries. indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective
companies.

Author Information
Kirk Paul Lafler is consultant and founder of Software Intelligence Corporation and has been using SAS since 1979. He is a SAS
Certified Professional, provider of IT consulting services, trainer to SAS users around the world, and sasCommunity.org emeritus
Advisory Board member. As the author of five books including PROC SQL: Beyond the Basics Using SAS, Second Edition (SAS
Press 2013); PROC SQL: Beyond the Basics Using SAS (2004), Kirk has written more than five hundred papers and articles, been
an Invited speaker and trainer at four hundred-plus SAS International, regional, special-interest, local, and in-house user group
conferences and meetings, and is the recipient of 22 Best contributed paper, hands-on workshop (HOW), and poster awards.
Comments and suggestions can be sent to:
Kirk Paul Lafler
Senior Consultant, Application Developer, Data Analyst, Trainer and Author
Software Intelligence Corporation
E-mail: [email protected]
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/KirkPaulLafler
Twitter: @SASnerd