In a SAS DATA step, a programmer writes: IF revenue > 100000 THEN tier = 'Gold'; ELSE IF revenue > 50000 THEN tier = 'Silver'; ELSE tier = 'Bronze'; Which SAS behavior occurs when revenue is a missing value (.)?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation and Infographic
Here's the deal — b is correct because in SAS, missing numeric values (.) are treated as smaller than any finite number in comparisons, so both IF conditions evaluate to FALSE and the ELSE branch assigns 'Bronze'. A is wrong because SAS does not error on comparisons with missing values.
Full explanation below image
Full Explanation
B is correct because in SAS, missing numeric values (.) are treated as smaller than any finite number in comparisons, so both IF conditions evaluate to FALSE and the ELSE branch assigns 'Bronze'. A is wrong because SAS does not error on comparisons with missing values. C is the opposite of actual SAS behavior. D is wrong because SAS will assign 'Bronze' via the ELSE branch, not a missing character value.