I know how to change the format of variables through data step like following.
data want;
set have;
format abc date9.;
run;
But if the format change requires converting from Character to Numeric then to Date involves following code with creation of new variable which I want to avoid.
data want;
set have;
abc_1 = input(scan(abc,"1"),ddmmyy10.);
format abc_1 date9.;
run;
Is it possible to avoid creation of new variable and change Character into Numeric and then Date9.