What is the difference between the SET and MERGE statements in SAS?

What is the difference between the SET and MERGE statements in SAS?

In SAS, the SET and MERGE statements are both used to combine datasets but have different functionalities:

1. SET Statement: The SET statement in SAS is used to stack datasets on top of each other vertically. It takes one observation from each dataset and creates a new dataset with the same variables.
2. MERGE Statement: The MERGE statement in SAS is used to combine datasets horizontally based on a common variable. It matches observations in the datasets based on the common variable and creates a new dataset with variables from both datasets.

It is important to note that the SET statement requires the datasets to have the same variables while the MERGE statement can combine datasets with different variables based on the common variable.

Overall, the SET statement is used for vertical stacking of datasets, while the MERGE statement is used for horizontal combining of datasets based on a common variable.