The SAS dataset contains values that are organized as rows and columns that can be processed (read/written) by SAS. The dataset can be a data file (table) or view. Either way, a dataset is typically rectangular in format. The dataset has a descriptor portion and data portion. While in the following table, we can only see the column/variable names, the descriptor portion holds further information such as the number of rows (more commonly referred to as observations) in the dataset, date and time of creation, and the operating environment in which it was created. This section is called the data portion, which holds all the data values:
The maximum number of observations that can be counted for a SAS dataset is determined by the long integer data type size for the operating environment. In operating environments with a 32-bit long integer, the maximum number...