What does the general code structure of PROC SORT include?

The general code structure of PROC SORT includes the DATA statement, OUT option to specify the output dataset, the BY statement to define the variables to sort by, and the RUN statement to execute the procedure.

The DATA statement is used to specify the input dataset that you want to sort. The OUT option allows you to direct the sorted results into a new dataset, which can be helpful for maintaining the original data intact. The BY statement is crucial as it indicates the variable(s) that the data should be sorted by, ensuring that the sorting is done according to the defined order. Finally, the RUN statement is needed to finalize and run the PROC SORT step, instructing SAS to execute the commands specified in the procedure.

This combination showcases the full capacity of PROC SORT to both read data and organize it based on certain criteria, which is vital for effective data management and analysis in SAS.