sashash

The sashash package provides powerful and efficient hash-based lookup and validation tools specifically designed for SAS programming. Leveraging the robust capabilities of SAS hash objects, this package enables rapid and dynamic key-based data retrieval and existence checking directly within a single data step. This significantly reduces the need for separate sort and merge steps, streamlining workflows and enhancing performance.

%kvlookup()

Enables efficient and dynamic retrieval of variables from a specified master dataset based on provided keys, directly within a single data step without separate sorting or merging.

PARAMETERS:

master     : (Required) Name of the master dataset to lookup from.
key        : (Required) Space-separated list of key variables for the lookup.
var        : (Required) Space-separated list of variables to retrieve from the master dataset. Default is none.
wh         : (Optional) SQL WHERE clause condition to subset the master dataset before loading into hash table. Default is none.
warn       : (Optional) Y/N flag. If 'Y', issues a warning in the log when the lookup key is not found. Default is 'N'.
dropviewflg: (Optional) Y/N flag. If 'Y', drops temporary SQL view created when the 'wh' parameter is used. Default is 'Y'.

Usage Example:

data a;
set b;  
%kvlookup(master=sashelp.class,
          key=Name,         
          var=Age Sex,
          wh=　%nrbquote(Age > 12),
          warn=Y,
          dropviewflg=Y);
run;

%keycheck()

Dynamically validates the existence of keys within a master dataset directly within a single data step. Ideal for rapid data integrity checks and immediate flagging of key existence or non-existence.

PARAMETERS:

master     : (Required) Name of the master dataset to check against.
key        : (Required) Space-separated list of key variables to check.
wh         : (Optional) SQL WHERE clause condition to subset the master dataset before loading into hash table. Default is none.
fl         : (Required) Name of the output variable indicating existence.
cat        : (Optional) Controls output format of existence indicator:
            - 'YN' (default): Returns 'Y' if key exists, 'N' otherwise.
            - 'NUM': Returns 1 if key exists, 0 otherwise.
dropviewflg: (Optional) Y/N flag. If 'Y', drops temporary SQL view created when the 'wh' parameter is used. Default is 'Y'.

Usage Example:

data a;
set b;
%keycheck(master=sashelp.class,
          key=Name,
          wh= %nrbquote(Age >= 15),
          fl=exist_flag,
          cat=YN,
          dropviewflg=Y);
run;

%kduppchk()

General-purpose duplicate key checker using SAS hash objects.

Parameters:

  key  : One or more key variables used to detect duplicates (space-delimited).

Usage Example:

data a;
set sashelp.class;
%kduppchk(AGE SEX);
%kduppchk(NAME);
run;

version history

0.0.4(13January2026): Bug-fix %keycheck's wh= parameter
0.0.3(11January2026): Bug-fix %keycheck's wh= parameter
0.0.2(23July2025): first stable version
0.0.1(22April2025): Initial version

What is SAS Packages?

The package is built on top of SAS Packages Framework(SPF) developed by Bartosz Jablonski.

For more information about the framework, see SAS Packages Framework.

You can also find more SAS Packages (SASPacs) in the SAS Packages Archive(SASPAC).

How to use SAS Packages? (quick start)

1. Set-up SAS Packages Framework

First, create a directory for your packages and assign a packages fileref to it.

filename packages "\path\to\your\packages";

Secondly, enable the SAS Packages Framework. (If you don't have SAS Packages Framework installed, follow the instruction in SPF documentation to install SAS Packages Framework.)

%include packages(SPFinit.sas)

2. Install SAS package

Install SAS package you want to use with the SPF's %installPackage() macro.

• For packages located in SAS Packages Archive(SASPAC) run:

  %installPackage(packageName)

• For packages located in PharmaForest run:

  %installPackage(packageName, mirror=PharmaForest)

• For packages located at some network location run:

  %installPackage(packageName, sourcePath=https://some/internet/location/for/packages)

  (e.g. %installPackage(ABC, sourcePath=https://github.com/SomeRepo/ABC/raw/main/))

3. Load SAS package

Load SAS package you want to use with the SPF's %loadPackage() macro.

%loadPackage(packageName)

Enjoy!