Scripting Guide - SAS

Appendix A JSL Syntax Reference 577
Character Pattern Functions
Pat Immediate(pattern, varName)
Description
Saves the result of the pattern match to a variable named as the second argument (varName)
immediately.
Returns
A pattern.
Arguments
pattern a pattern to match against.
varName the name of a variable to store the result in.
Example
type = "undefined";
rc = Pat Match("green apples", ("red"|"green") >> type + " pears");
show(rc, type);
rc = 0
type = "green"
Even though the match failed, the immediate assignment was made.
Pat Len(int)
Description
Constructs a pattern that matches n characters.
Returns
A pattern.
Argument
int an integer that specifies the number of characters.
Pat Match(SourceText, Pattern, , , )
Description
Pat Match executes the Pattern against the SourceText. The pattern must be constructed first,
either inline or by assigning it to a JSL variable elsewhere.
Returns
1 if the pattern is found, 0 otherwise.
Arguments
SourceText A string or string variable that contains the text to be searched.
Pattern A pattern or pattern variable that contains the text to be searched for.
ReplacementText Optional string that, if present, defines text to replace the pattern in the source
text.
ANCHOR Optional command to anchor the pattern match to the beginning of the string.
FULLSCAN Optional command to force Pat Match to try all alternatives.