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SORTPGM=

Default:	BEST
Valid in:	configuration file, SAS invocation, OPTIONS statement, OPTIONS window
CMS specifics:	all

sort-utility-name

specifies the entry name into an accessible sort utility. This can be a member of the TXTLIB that is specified in the SORTLIB= option.

BEST

specifies to use either the sort utility supplied by SAS or the host sort utility, if available, depending on which is better suited for the data. BEST is based on the number of observations to be sorted. To use SORTPGM=BEST, the entry name of the utility must be SORT, and the SORTLIB= system option must be set appropriately.

HOST

specifies to use the host sort utility available under CMS. To use SORTPGM=HOST, the entry name of the utility must be SORT and the SORTLIB= system option must be set appropriately.

SAS

specifies the sort utility supplied by SAS, which is more efficient for sorting small files than invoking a CMS sort utility.

Details

The host sort utility might be more suitable than the SAS-supplied sort utility for data sets that contain a large number of observations.

To use SORTPGM=BEST or SORTPGM=HOST when the entry name of the sort utility is not SORT, use the SORTNAME= system option to specify the entry name.

See Also

• SORTNAME=

• SAS Language Reference: Dictionary

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