The arithmetic mean is the value obtained by summing value of numeric variables and then dividing the sum with the number of variables. It is also called Average. In SAS arithmetic mean is calculated using PROC MEANS. Using this SAS procedure we can find the mean of all variables or some variables of a dataset. We can also form groups and find mean of variables of values specific to that group.

Syntax

The basic syntax for calculating arithmetic mean in SAS is −

PROC MEANS DATA = DATASET;
CLASS Variables ;
VAR Variables;

Following is the description of parameters used −

• DATASET − is the name of the dataset used.

• Variables − are the name of the variable from the dataset.

Mean of a Dataset

The mean of each of the numeric variable in a dataset is calculated by using the PROC by supplying only the dataset name without any variables.

Example

In the below example we find the mean of all the numeric variables in the SAS dataset named CARS. We specify the maximum digits after decimal place to be 2 and also find the sum of those variables.

PROC MEANS DATA = sashelp.CARS Mean SUM MAXDEC=2;

RUN;

When the above code is executed, we get the following output −

sas 17

Mean of Select Variables

We can get the mean of some of the variables by supplying their names in the var option.

Example

In the below we calculate the mean of three variables.

PROC MEANS DATA = sashelp.CARS mean SUM MAXDEC=2 ;
var horsepower invoice EngineSize;
RUN;

When the above code is executed, we get the following output −

sas 19

Mean by Class

We can find the mean of the numeric variables by organizing them to groups by using some other variables.

Example

In the example below we find the mean of the variable horsepower for each type under each make of the car.

PROC MEANS DATA = sashelp.CARS mean SUM MAXDEC=2;
class make type;
var horsepower;
RUN;

When the above code is executed, we get the following output −

sas 20

SAS – Date & Times

IN SAS dates are a special case of numeric values. Each day is assigned a specific numeric value starting from 1st January 1960. This date is assigned the date value 0 and the next date has a date value of 1 and so on. The previous days to this date are represented by -1 , -2 and so on. With this approach SAS can represent any date in future and any date in past.

When SAS reads the data from a source it converts the data read into a specific date format as specified the date format. The variable to store the date value is declared with the proper informat required. The output date is shown by using the output data formats.

SAS Date Informat

The source data can be read properly by using specific date informats as shown below. The digit at the end of the informat indicates the minimum width of the date string to be read completely using the informat. A smaller width will give incorrect result. with SAS V9, there is a generic date format anydtdte15. which can process any date input.

Input Date Date width Informat

03/11/2014 10 mmddyy10.

03/11/14 8 mmddyy8.

December 11, 2012 20 worddate20.

14mar2011 9 date9.

14-mar-2011 11 date11.

14-mar-2011 15 anydtdte15.

Example

The below code shows the reading of different date formats. Please note the all the output values are just numbers as we have not applied any format statement to the output values.

DATA TEMP;
INPUT @1 Date1 date11. @12 Date2 anydtdte15. @23 Date3 mmddyy10. ;
DATALINES;
02-mar-2012 3/02/2012 3/02/2012
;
PROC PRINT DATA = TEMP;
RUN;

When the above code is executed, we get the following output.

sas 21

SAS Date output format

The dates after being read , can be converted to another format as required by the display. This is achieved using the format statement for the date types. They take the same formats as informats.

Example

In the below exampel the date is read in one format but displayed in another format.

DATA TEMP;
INPUT @1 DOJ1 mmddyy10. @12 DOJ2 mmddyy10.;
format DOJ1 date11. DOJ2 worddate20. ;
DATALINES;
01/12/2012 02/11/1998
;
PROC PRINT DATA = TEMP;
RUN;

When the above code is executed, we get the following output.

sas 22

So, this brings us to the end of blog. This Tecklearn ‘How to calculate Arithmetic Mean and Handling Date and Time in SAS’ blog helps you with commonly asked questions if you are looking out for a job in SAS. If you wish to learn SAS and build a career in Data Analytics domain, then check out our interactive, SAS Training for SAS BASE Certification Training, that comes with 24*7 support to guide you throughout your learning period. Please find the link for course details:

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What you will Learn in this Course?

Introduction to SAS

• Introduction to SAS

• Installation of SAS

• SAS windows

• Working with data sets

• Walk through of SAS windows like output, search, editor etc

SAS Enterprise Guide

• How to read and subset the data sets

• SET Statement

• Infile and Infile Options

• SAS Format -Format Vs Informat

SAS Operators and Functions

• Using Variables

• Defining and using KEEP and DROP statements

• Output Statement

• Retain Statement

• SUM Statement

Advanced SAS Procedures

• PROC Import

• PROC Print

• Data Step Vs Proc

• Deep Dive into Proc

Customizing Datasets

• SAS Arrays

• Useful SAS Functions

• PUT/INPUT Functions

• Date/Time Functions

• Numeric Functions

• Character Functions

SAS Format and SAS Graphs

• SAS Format statements

• Understanding PROC GCHART, various graphs, bar charts: pie, bar

Sorting Techniques

• NODUP

• NODUKEY

• NODUP Vs NODUKEY

Data Transformation Function

• Character functions, numeric functions and converting variable type

• Use functions in data transformation

Deep Dive into SAS Procedures, Functions and Statements

• Find Function

• Scan Function

• MERGE Statement

• BY Statement

• Joins

• Procedures Vs Function

• Where Vs If

• What is Missover

• NMISS

• CMISS

PROC SQL

• SELECT statement

• Sorting of Data

• CASE expression

• Other SELECT statement clauses

• JOINS and UNIONS

Using SAS Macros

• Benefits of SAS Macros

• Macro Variables

• Macro Code Constituents and Macro Step

• Positional Parameters to Macros

Got a question for us? Please mention it in the comments section and we will get back to you.

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