How SAS Handles Invalid Data

An input value is invalid if it has any of the following characteristics:

• It requires an informat that is not specified.

• It does not conform to the informat specified.

• It does not match the input style used; for example, if it is read as standard numeric data (no dollar sign or informat) but does not conform to the rules for standard SAS numbers .

• It is out of range (too large or too small).

Operating Environment Information: The range for numeric values is operating environment-specific . See the SAS documentation for your operating environment for more information.

If SAS reads a data value that is incompatible with the type specified for that variable, SAS tries to convert the value to the specified type, as described in "How SAS Handles Invalid Data" on page 367. If conversion is not possible, an error occurs, and SAS performs the following actions:

• sets the value of the variable being read to missing or to the value specified with the INVALIDDATA= system option

• prints an invalid data note in the SAS log

• sets the automatic variable _ERROR_ to 1 for the current observation.

• prints the input line and column number containing the invalid value in the SAS log. If a line contains unprintable characters , it is printed in hexadecimal form. A scale is printed above the input line to help determine column numbers