Variable Formats (DATA LIST command)

Two types of format specifications are available: column-style and FORTRAN-like. With each type, you can specify both numeric and string formats. The difference between the two types is that FORTRAN-like formats include the width of the variable and column-style formats do not.

• Column-style formats are available only for fixed-format data.
• Column-style and FORTRAN-like formats can be mixed on the same DATA LIST to define fixed-format data.
• A value that cannot be read according to the format type specified is assigned the system-missing value and a warning message is issued.

The following sections discuss the rules for specifying column-style and FORTRAN-like formats, followed by additional considerations for numeric and string formats.