SAS

[earthtomeryl]

So evil. So, so evil.
Why can't it just import the damn file the same way every other program does? Why does it have to spontaneously redefine variables as text? Why does it ignore most of the data when I try to tell it what kind of variable it's got? IT IS F**KING NUMERIC! There are no quotation marks or special characters! What else can it want?

Comments

[anonymous]

Maybe your punch cards are bent.
--Mark

[earthtomeryl]

LOL

[ekite]

We have this program here called StatTransfer- it's the most beautiful thing ever. It's a program that will turn any format file into any other format. (ie, Stata dataset to SAS, SAS dataset to Excel, Excel to SAS). The best part is, StatTransfer lets you decide what format your variables are! And it doesn't randomly drop variables, or decide to only allot 6 characters, or any of the other crazy shit SAS pulls. You should try and get the Fed to buy it. It probably would have saved me a whole month of workdays across my two years at the Fed.

[earthtomeryl]

oooh, I think we might have that. I should ask. You're right, that would make life much easier.

[ekite]

You will LOVE it if the Fed has it. Remember all the times you've yelled at SAS and wondered why it can't just take the data EXACTLY AS IT'S WRITTEN and convert it into SAS? Why it keeps dropping variables or transposing values or stubbornly insisting your date value is character? This program solves all that, and makes it look so easy- oh! I love it!

[earthtomeryl]

:D We did have it, and I used it, and all is well. At least, that part is well. Thanks!