From Obscurity to Utility: ADDR, PEEK, POKE as DATA Step Programming Tools

routine, and their so-called LONG 64-bit counterparts- SAS tools designed to directly read from and write to the physical memory in the Data step and SQL Procedure. APP functions have long been a SAS user dark horse. Firstly, the examples of APP usage in SAS documentation boil down to a few tidbits in a technical report, all intended for system programming tasks, with no hint how the functions could be used in plain data management SAS programming. Secondly, the note about the CALL POKE routine in the SAS documentation is so intimidating in tone that many a folk may have decided to avoid the potentially precarious route altogether. However, nothing can stand on the way of a curious SAS programmer daring to take a closer look; and it turns out that APP functions are very simple and useful tools! They can be used to explore how things “really work”, make code more concise, implement “en masse ” (group) data moves, and, oftentimes, significantly improve execution efficiency. The authors have been exploring the APP world since 1998, occasionally letting the SAS-L community to peek at their findings. This tutorial is an attempt to the results in a systematic way. Welcome to the APP world! You are in for a few surprises