In what scenario would you use column input in SAS?

Column input in SAS is particularly useful when dealing with raw data that has consistent field widths. This means that each variable in the data is located at a specific position within each line of the input file and maintains the same width throughout. For example, if you have a dataset where the first 5 characters represent one variable, the next 10 characters represent another variable, and so forth, column input allows you to read these variables directly based on their defined positions without needing to specify delimiters.

In this scenario, defining positions simplifies the input process and allows for efficient reading of the data, as SAS can directly extract values from the specified column locations. Also, this approach is particularly effective when the format of the data is structured and consistent, which avoids complications that may arise with varying lengths or missing values.

The other scenarios presented involve complexities where column input would not be suitable. For instance, binary formatted data requires specialized input techniques due to its non-text representation, while reading data with headers typically necessitates the use of line and column pointers to correctly identify variable names and their corresponding data. Additionally, when multiple delimiters are present, the use of formatted input with delimiters is needed to accurately parse the data. Thus, column input is ideal solely for uniformly