Here is an example how to use choosec to create a random sample with values "A","B","C","D","E".


data sample;
   length x $1;
   do i=1 to 100;
      n=ceil(5*ranuni(123));
      x=chooseC(n,"A","B","C","D","E");
      output;
    end;
run;

proc freq data=sample;
table x;
run;

************************;
Syntax CHOOSEC (index-expression, selection-1 <,…selection-n> )

Required Arguments index-expression specifies a numeric constant, variable, or expression.
selection specifies a character constant, variable, or expression. The value of this argument is returned by the CHOOSEC function.

Details Length of Returned VariableIn a DATA step, if the CHOOSEC function returns a value to a variable that has not previously been assigned a length, then that variable is given a length of 200 bytes.


The BasicsThe CHOOSEC function uses the value of index-expression to select from the arguments that follow. For example, if index-expression is three, CHOOSEC returns the value of selection-3. If the first argument is negative, the function counts backwards from the list of arguments, and returns that value.



Comparisons The CHOOSEC function is similar to the CHOOSEN function except that CHOOSEC returns a character value while CHOOSEN returns a numeric value.

Example The following example shows how CHOOSEC chooses from a series of values:
data _null_;   Fruit=choosec(1,'apple','orange','pear','fig');   Color=choosec(3,'red','blue','green','yellow');   Planet=choosec(2,'Mars','Mercury','Uranus');   Sport=choosec(-3,'soccer','baseball','gymnastics','skiing');   put Fruit= Color= Planet= Sport=;run;
SAS writes the following line to the log:
Fruit=apple Color=green Planet=Mercury Sport=baseball