Question

Regarding SAS formats, what is true?

a) Formats, even permanently associated ones, affect the values of variables in a SAS data set.
b) Formats only alter the appearance of values but not the actual values of variables in a SAS data set.
c) SAS does not support the use of formats to modify variable values.
d) Formats are only applied to character variables in SAS.

Answer 1

Formats in SAS only alter the appearance of values but not the actual values of variables in a SAS data set.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct statement regarding SAS formats is option b) Formats only alter the appearance of values but not the actual values of variables in a SAS data set.

Formats in SAS are used to control the way variable values are displayed. They determine how the values are shown but do not change the underlying values themselves. For example, a format can be used to display a numeric variable as a currency or a date variable in a specific format.

Formats can be applied to both numeric and character variables in SAS. They can be permanently associated with a variable or temporarily applied during data processing.