SPSS® 12.0 Command Syntax Reference

434 DATE
• The DATE command invalidates any previous USE and PREDICT commands specified.
The USE and PREDICT periods must be respecified after DATE.
Limitations
• There is no limit on the number of keywords on the DATE command. However, keywords
that describe long time periods (YEAR, QUARTER, MONTH) cannot be used on the same
command with keywords that describe short time periods (WEEK, DAY, HOUR, MINUTE,
SECOND).
• User-defined variable names must not conflict with DATE variable names.
Example 1
DATE Y 1960 M.
• This command generates variables DATE_, YEAR_, and MONTH_.
• YEAR_ has a starting value of 1960. MONTH_ starts at the default value of 1.
• By default, YEAR_ has no periodicity, and MONTH_ has a periodicity of 12.
Example 2
DATE reports the following:
Name Label
YEAR_ YEAR, not periodic
MONTH_ MONTH, period 12
DATE_ DATE. FORMAT: "MMM YYYY"
The following is a partial listing of the new variables:
YEAR_ MONTH_ DATE_
1960 1 JAN 1960
1960 2 FEB 1960
1960 3 MAR 1960
1960 4 APR 1960
...
1960 10 OCT 1960
1960 11 NOV 1960
1960 12 DEC 1960
1961 1 JAN 1961
1961 2 FEB 1961
...
1999 4 APR 1999
1999 5 MAY 1999
1999 6 JUN 1999
DATE WEEK DAY 1 5 HOUR 1 8.
• This command creates four variables (DATE_, WEEK_, DAY_, and HOUR_) in a file where
observations occur hourly in a 5-day, 40-hour week.
• For WEEK_, the default starting value is 1 and the default periodicity is none.