Keep and Rename Data Set Options

I always forget which gets applied first when using the keep= and rename= data set options on the same data set. So I thought I'd just put it here so I will remember:

Keep happens before the rename.

Keep happens before the rename.

Keep happens before the rename.

There. Now I won't forget.

A little test code to prove it:

data test;
  length x y z $5;
run;

data test;
  set test(keep=x y z rename=(x=x2));
run;

{ old=>'datasteps.blogspot.com' , new=>'www.sasCoders.com' }

A few months ago I got an email from my service provider vaguely stating they would no longer exist as a company and I better find an alternative. Yikes! I am still trying to sort everything out, but so far being forced to move has been a good thing. It has given me the impetus to focus, evaluate and expand my little web presence.

One of the tasks I put off for too long was to link this blog to its own unique URL. Apparently having its own URL gives your blog a feeling of gravitas and professionalism. Now I can finally cross that off my checklist. While the new URL is www.sasCoders.com, the old datasteps.blogspot.com will still continue to work. And the name of the blog will still stay the same. Eventually as I sort things out I will probably move it to its own subdomain (datasteps.sasCoders.com). Would you believe datasteps.com is already taken?


Dear Mark Fitzgerald, er, I mean CodePanther: I am assuming you probably registered a bunch of URLs based on existing blogspot.com blogs? In the hopes that I will eventually want that name and contact you to see how much you will sell it for? What a great strategy! Hope it works well for you. Oh wait! Maybe you specifically chose data steps because you wanted to be associated with this super successful blog? Woohoo! Rock on CodePanther!


Anyways, hopefully the switch is seamless and I won't lose any readers or google juice. :)