AUTORECODE VARIABLES=src_vars INTO dest_vars
[ /DESCENDING ]
[ /PRINT ]
[ /GROUP ]
[ /BLANK = {VALID, MISSING} ]
The AUTORECODE procedure considers the n values that a variable
takes on and maps them onto values 1...n on a new numeric
variable.
Subcommand VARIABLES is the only required subcommand and must come
first. Specify VARIABLES, an equals sign (‘=’), a list of source
variables, INTO, and a list of target variables. There must the same
number of source and target variables. The target variables must not
already exist.
By default, increasing values of a source variable (for a string, this
is based on character code comparisons) are recoded to increasing values
of its target variable. To cause increasing values of a source variable
to be recoded to decreasing values of its target variable (n down
to 1), specify DESCENDING.
PRINT is currently ignored.
The GROUP subcommand is relevant only if more than one variable is to be
recoded. It causes a single mapping between source and target values to
be used, instead of one map per variable.
If /BLANK=MISSING is given, then string variables which contain only
whitespace are recoded as SYSMIS. If /BLANK=VALID is given then they
will be allocated a value like any other. /BLANK is not relevant
to numeric values. /BLANK=VALID is the default.
AUTORECODE is a procedure. It causes the data to be read.