What does CMISS indicate in SAS?

CMISS is a function in SAS that is used to count the number of missing values in a set of variables. Specifically, it determines the count of missing values for both numeric and character arguments provided to it. This makes it particularly useful when assessing data quality, as it can help identify how many of the supplied variables lack valid data entries.

When using CMISS, if the function is applied to a series of variables, it will return a single integer indicating the total number of arguments that are missing, regardless of whether they are numeric or character types. This inclusive counting is valuable for comprehensive data validation and analysis.

The other options suggest limits on what CMISS can evaluate, focusing incorrectly on either numeric or character arguments exclusively, or suggesting it counts all arguments without regard to their missing status. However, CMISS specifically tracks missing values rather than just enumerating all present ones. Thus, option C accurately reflects the functionality of CMISS by capturing its role in identifying both numeric and character missing data.