/*****************************************************************************************************************

SAS file name: Convert_Numeric_to_Character.sas
File location: 
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Purpose: To demonstrate the correct way of converting variables from numeric to character in SAS 
         using the PUT Function.
Author: Peter Clemmensen
Creation Date: 02/09/2017

This program supports the blog post "Convert from Character to Numeric in SAS - The Easy and the Right Way" on SASnrd.com

*****************************************************************************************************************/

/* From Numeric to Character */

/* Naive Approach */
data NumericToChar1;
   ZIP = 2100;                      /* Some number                 */
   CharZIP = cats(ZIP);             /* Naive conversion method     */
   put CharZIP=;                    /* Print to log                */
run;
ods select Variables;               /* Select variable information */
proc contents data=NumericToChar1;
run;

/* Correct Approach */
data NumericToChar2;
   ZIP = 2100;                      /* Some number                 */
   CharZIP = put(ZIP, 4.);          /* Correct conversion method   */
   put CharZIP=;                    /* Print to log                */
run;
ods select Variables;               /* Select variable information */
proc contents data=NumericToChar2;
run;