Statistical Analysis System (SAS) Programming Certification Practice Exam

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Prepare for the SAS Programming Certification Exam. Study with multiple choice questions and detailed explanations. Enhance your exam readiness!

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What base date does SAS use for calculating date values?

January 1, 1900
January 1, 1950
January 1, 1960
January 1, 1970

The correct answer is: January 1, 1960

SAS uses January 1, 1960, as the base date for calculating date values. This means that date values in SAS represent the number of days between that base date and any given date. A value of 0 corresponds to January 1, 1960, meaning that if a date is before this base date, it will yield negative values, while dates after will yield positive values. This framework is fundamental to how SAS manages and interprets date data, facilitating analysis and calculations related to time. The choice of January 1, 1960, as the base date is practical, as it predates the creation of the SAS software and allows for a wide range of dates for analysis while avoiding complications that would arise from earlier date systems prevalent in other programming languages or database systems. Understanding this base date is critical for accurately working with date calculations in SAS, including operations like date comparisons or calculating intervals, which rely on this standard reference point.