Moving Average

The below code reveals the concept of calculating a moving average. A _temporary_ array retains its values and is not included in the program data vector (PDV). The use of modulus division is critical in replacing the most recent value with the oldest retained value in the array.

%let rows = 3 ;
data movingaverage ;
  array ave[ &rows ] _temporary_ ; 
  do i = 1 to 5 ;
    subscript = mod( i , &rows ) ; 
    subscript = ifn( subscript, subscript, &rows ) ;
    ave[ subscript ] = i ; 
    if i >= &rows then average = mean( of ave[ * ] ) ;
    output ;
  end ;
run ;