SAS Variables : Definitions

variables: are containers that you create within a program to store and use character and numeric values. Variables have attributes, such as name and type, that enable you to identify them and that define how they can be used.
character variables: are variables of type character that contain alphabetic characters, numeric digits 0 through 9, and other special characters.
numeric variables: are variables of type numeric that are stored as floating-point numbers, including dates and times.
numeric precision: refers to the degree of accuracy with which numeric variables are stored in your operating environment.