I want to add auto_increment column in a table in SAS - sas

Question

I want to add a auto_Increment column in a table in SAS.Following code add's a column but not increment the value.
Thanks In Advance.
proc sql;
alter table pmt.W_cur_qtr_recoveries
add ID integer;
quit;

Answer 1

Wow, going to try for my second "SAS doesn't do that" answer this morning. Risky stuff.
A SAS dataset cannot define an auto-increment column. Whether you are creating a new dataset or inserting records into an existing dataset, you are responsible for creating any increment counters (ie they are just normal numeric vars where you have set the values to what you want).
That said, there are DATA step statements such as the sum statement (e.g. MyCounter+1) that make it easier to implement counters. If you describe more details of your problem, people could provide some alternatives.

Answer 2

The correct answer at this time is to create the ID yourself, BUT the discussion wouldn't be complete without mentioning that there is an unsupported SQL function Monotonic that can do what you want. It's not reliable, yet it persists.
The code pattern for its usage is
select monotonic() as ID, ....

Answer 3

Use the _N_ automatic variable in a data step like:
DATA TEMPLIB.my_dataset (label="my dataset with auto increment variables");
SET TEMPREP.my_dataset;
sas_incr_num = _N_; * add an auto increment 'sas_incr_num' variable;
sas_incr_cat = cat("AB.",cats(repeat("0",5-ceil(log10(sas_incr_num+1))),sas_incr_num),".YZ"); * auto increment the sas_incr_num variable and add 5 leading zeros and concatenate strings on either end;
LABEL
sas_incr_num="auto number each row"
sas_incr_cat="auto number each row, leading zeros, and add strings along for fun"
...

Answer 4

There is no such thing as an auto increment column in a SAS dataset. You can use a data step to create a new dataset that has the new variable. You can use the same name to have it replace the old one when done.
data pmt.W_cur_qtr_recoveries;
set pmt.W_cur_qtr_recoveries;
ID+1;
run;

Answer 5

It really depends on what your intended outcome is. But I have thrown together an example of how you may want to tackle this. it is a little rough, but gives you something to work from.
/*JUST SETTING UP THE DAY ONE DATA WITH AN ID ATTACHED
YOU WOULD MAKE THE FIRST RUN EXECUTE DIFFERENTLY TO SUBSEQUENT RUNS BY USING THE EXISTS FUNCTION AND MACRO LANGUAGE,
BUT I WILL LET YOU INVESTIGATE THIS FURTHER AS IT MAY BE IRRELEVANT.*/
DATA DAY1;
SET SASHELP.CLASS;
ID+1;
RUN;
/*ON DAY 2 WE ARE APPENDING ADDITIONAL RECORDS TO THE EXISTING DATASET*/
DATA DAY2;
/*APPEND DATASETS*/
SET DAY1 SASHELP.CLASS;
/*HOLD VALUE IN PROGRAM DATA VECTOR (PDV) UNTIL EXPLICITLY CHANGED*/
RETAIN _ID;
/*ADD VARIABLE _ID AND POPULATE WITH ID. IN DOING THIS THE LAST INSTANCE OF THE ID WILL BE HELD IN THE PDV FOR THE
FIRST OF THE NEW RECORDS*/
IF ID ~= . THEN _ID = ID;
/*INCREMENT THE VALUE IN _ID BY 1 AND DO SO FOR EACH RECORD ADDED*/
ELSE DO;
_ID+1;
END;
/*DROP THE ORIGINAL ID;*/
DROP ID;
/*RENAME _ID TO ID*/
RENAME _ID = ID;
RUN;

Answer 6

where "W_prv_qtr_recoveries" is a table Name and "pmt" is a library name.
Thanks to user2337871.
DATA pmt.W_prv_qtr_recoveries;
SET pmt.W_prv_qtr_recoveries;
RETAIN _ID;
IF ID ~= . THEN _ID = ID;
ELSE DO;
_ID+1;
END;
DROP ID;
RENAME _ID = ID;
RUN;

Answer 7

Assuming that this autoincrement column will be used for every record that is inserted.
We can accomplish the same as follows:-
We will first check the latest key in the dataset
PROC SQL;
SELECT MAX(KEY) INTO :MK FROM MYDATA;
QUIT;
%put KeyOld=&MK;
Then we increment this key
Data _NULL_;
call symput('KeyNew',&MK+1);
run;
%put KeyNew=&KeyNew;
Here we hold the New record that we want to insert, and add the correspoding key
Data TEMP1;
set TEMP;
Key=&KeyNew;
run;
Finally we load the new record in our dataset
PROC APPEND BASE=MYDATA DATA=TEMP1 FORCE;
RUN;