A format is a type
of SAS language element that applies a pattern to or executes instructions
for a data value to be displayed or written as output. Types of formats
correspond to the data's type: numeric, character, date, time, or
timestamp. The ability to create user-defined formats is also supported.
Examples of SAS formats are BINARY, DATE, and WORDS. For example,
the WORDS22. format, which converts numeric values to their equivalent
in words, writes the numeric value 692 as
six hundred
ninety-two.