What does the SCAN function in SAS do?

The SCAN function in SAS is designed to extract a specific word from a character string based on its position. When you specify a position, SCAN will analyze the string, identify the words separated by specified delimiters (usually spaces or other specified characters), and return the word that corresponds to that position. For example, if you have a string "SAS Programming Language" and use SCAN with a position of 2, it will return "Programming."

This function is particularly useful for parsing strings where you need to isolate certain elements, such as when working with names, addresses, or any other delimited data. By using SCAN, you can effectively manipulate and analyze text data in SAS programs, making it a valuable tool in data preparation and transformation tasks.