UPDATE_SQL= Data Set Option

Determines which method to use to update and delete rows in a data source.

Valid in: DATA and PROC steps (when accessing DBMS data using SAS/ACCESS software)
Category: Data Set Control
Default: LIBNAME option value
Data source: DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, ODBC, PostgreSQL, Vertica
Note: Support for DB was added in SAS 9.4M9.
See: INSERT_SQL= data set option, UPDATE_SQL= LIBNAME option

Table of Contents

Syntax

UPDATE_SQL=YES | NO

Syntax Description

YES

specifies that SAS/ACCESS uses Current-of-Cursor SQL to update or delete rows in a table.

NO

specifies that SAS/ACCESS uses the SQLSetPos() API to update or delete rows in a table.

Details

This is the update and delete equivalent of the INSERT_SQL= data set option .

Last updated: February 3, 2026