GetAttribs( dsn )

If you ever need to add a column in the middle of a SAS data set it can be problematic since the program data vector (PDV) controls the order. As a result, I wrote the below macro to expedite the process by writing column attributes to the SAS log. From there I can review then copy and paste the content into a new program.

%macro getattribs( dsn )  ;
  %if %sysfunc( exist( &dsn ) ) %then %do ;
    %let dsn = %upcase( &dsn ) ;
    %if %index( &dsn, . ) %then %do ;
      %let libname = %scan( &dsn, 1, . ) ;
      %let memname = %scan( &dsn, 2, . ) ;
    %end ;
    %else %do ;
      %let libname = WORK ;
      %let memname = &dsn ;
    %end ;
    
    data _null_ ;
      length line $512 ;
      put /  "Attributes of data set: &dsn"
         //  'attrib' ;
      do until( eof ) ;
        set sashelp.vcolumn end = eof ;
        where libname = "&libname" and memname = "&memname"  ;
        line = cat( strip( name )
          , ' length = ', ifc( type = 'char', '$', '' ), strip( put( length, 5. ) )
          , ifc( missing( label ), ' ', cat( ' label = "', strip( label ), '" '  ) )
          , ifc( missing( informat ), ' ', catx( ' ', ' informat =', informat ) ), ' '
          , ifc( missing( format ), ' ', catx( ' ', ' format =', format ) )
        ) ;
        put +2 line ;
     end ;
     put ';'  ;
     stop ;
   run ;
 %end ;
 %else %put NOTE: Data set &dsn does not exist. ;
%mend ;

%getattribs( sashelp.cars )

Attributes of data set: SASHELP.CARS

attrib
  Make length = $13
  Model length = $40
  Type length = $8
  Origin length = $6
  DriveTrain length = $5
  MSRP length =  8   format = DOLLAR8.
  Invoice length =  8   format = DOLLAR8.
  EngineSize length =  8 label = "Engine Size (L)"
  Cylinders length =  8
  Horsepower length =  8
  MPG_City length =  8 label = "MPG (City)"
  MPG_Highway length =  8 label = "MPG (Highway)"
  Weight length =  8 label = "Weight (LBS)"
  Wheelbase length =  8 label = "Wheelbase (IN)"
  Length length =  8 label = "Length (IN)"
;
NOTE: There were 15 observations read from the data set
      SASHELP.VCOLUMN.
      WHERE (libname='SASHELP') and (memname='CARS');