Proc Append Problem

[ps1881]

We have multiple large SAS datasets that we are trying to append to one large table. I've set up the code to look like this:

data XXX.Appendee;
set XXX.Appending1;
run;
proc append base = XXX.Appendent data=XXX.Appending2;
run;
proc append base = XXX.Appendent data=XXX.Appending3;
run;


However, I keep getting the error message :

"Error: The file XXX.Appendee.DATA is shorter than expected."

I am running this code on a desktop version of SAS. Also it only seems to occur when the data set being appended to is on our network and if I run each statement individually most of the time this error will not occur. It seems to occur on the third statement most of the time, the first file that is being appended normally goes through. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ChrisW75]

First off, the error is referring to the data step at the start, not the proc append steps, so those are superfluous to this issue.
I did a quick search on the error message on the SAS support site, and it seems likely that the file has become corrupted according to the articles listed here:-

http://tinyurl.com/you8g2

However, my first thought is that your network connection might be a bit too slow, I know SAS in the past has had issues when accessing over slow networks, or between operating environments.

Try putting the dataset locally and if it works, it would probably be worth talking to SAS support (check known issues) and your IT support people (check network connectivity) to see how to resolve this. Sometimes there are clashes between technologies used on server and client.


Chris
Business Analyst, Code Monkey, Data Wrangler.
SAS Guru.