What does the SUMVAR option in GCHART specify?

The SUMVAR option in GCHART is used to specify the variable that will be utilized for sum or mean calculations in the creation of a chart. When you are generating a graphical representation using GCHART, it's important to determine which variable's aggregated values will be displayed. By specifying the SUMVAR option, you're indicating to the procedure which numeric variable should be used in calculations to produce summary statistics, such as totals or averages, which will be visually represented as part of the chart.

This is particularly useful when you want to visualize data based on aggregated measures, allowing for a clearer understanding of trends or comparisons across different categories represented in the chart. For example, if you are creating a bar chart to show total sales by region, you would use the SUMVAR to define which variable contains the sales figures that will be summed for each region.

Other options serve different purposes: one may relate to the selection of the variable displayed, another might define slice limits in a pie chart, while one is about visual characteristics rather than functional calculations. The focus of the SUMVAR option specifically on sum or mean calculations makes it a crucial part of defining the data visualized in GCHARTs.