Question

Which statement best describes the purpose of the output control data set?

a. The output control data set enables you to output one value for one observation that contains the information about the format.
b. The output control data set enables you to output formats without writing VALUE statement in the PROC FORMAT step.
c. The output control data set contains information that describes formats. It is the data set that is created with the CNTLIN= option in the PROC FORMAT statement.
d. The output control data set contains information that describes formats. It is the data set that is created with the CNTLOUT= option in the PROC FORMAT statement.

Answer 1

The correct statement is that an output control data set contains format information and is created with the CNTLOUT= option in PROC FORMAT in SAS.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that best describes the purpose of the output control data set is: d. The output control data set contains information that describes formats. It is the data set that is created with the CNTLOUT= option in the PROC FORMAT statement.

In SAS, the PROC FORMAT step is used to define custom formats for data values. When you use the CNTLOUT= option, SAS creates an output control data set that captures the format definitions you've specified within the PROC FORMAT step. This allows you to save these format definitions in a SAS data set, and you can later use this data set to recreate the same formats without needing to redefine them manually in your code.