Which procedure would you use to sort data in SAS?

The procedure used to sort data in SAS is PROC SORT. This procedure is specifically designed to organize data sets by one or more variables, allowing users to arrange their data in a meaningful order, such as ascending or descending. With PROC SORT, you can specify the variables by which to sort the data, and it automatically handles the sorting process for you.

Utilizing PROC SORT effectively is crucial in data analysis, as sorted data can lead to clearer insights, facilitate reporting, and improve the usability of datasets for subsequent procedures. The simplicity of the syntax in PROC SORT allows even those who are newer to SAS programming to quickly grasp how to manipulate their datasets for analysis and reporting purposes.

The alternative procedures listed are employed for different purposes. PROC FILTER, for example, is used for filtering or selecting observations based on specific criteria, while PROC RANK ranks data rather than sorting it. Meanwhile, PROC ORDER is not a recognized procedure in SAS for either sorting or manipulating data.