In addition, you can print the contents of a catalog that contains informats or formats, store descriptions of informats or formats in a SAS data set, and use a SAS data set to create informats or formats. Informats determine how raw data values are read and stored.
Formats determine how variable values are printed.
For simplicity, this section uses the terminology the informat converts and the format prints . The SAS System provides informats and formats for reading and writing variables. The following figure summarizes what occurs when you associate an informat and format with a variable. In the figure, SAS reads the raw data value that contains the dollar sign and comma. For more information about associating informats and formats with variables, see Associating Informats and Formats with Variables .