RECODE var_list (src_value...=dest_value)... [INTO var_list].
src_value may take the following forms:
number
string
num1 THRU num2
MISSING
SYSMIS
ELSE
Open-ended ranges may be specified using LO or LOWEST for num1
or HI or HIGHEST for num2.
dest_value may take the following forms:
num
string
SYSMIS
COPY
RECODE translates data from one range of values to another, via flexible user-specified mappings. Data may be remapped in-place or copied to new variables. Numeric, short string, and long string data can be recoded.
Specify the list of source variables, followed by one or more mapping specifications each enclosed in parentheses. If the data is to be copied to new variables, specify INTO, then the list of target variables. String target variables must already have been declared using STRING or another transformation, but numeric target variables can be created on the fly. There must be exactly as many target variables as source variables. Each source variable is remapped into its corresponding target variable.
When INTO is not used, the input and output variables must be of the same type. Otherwise, string values can be recoded into numeric values, and vice versa. When this is done and there is no mapping for a particular value, either a value consisting of all spaces or the system-missing value is assigned, depending on variable type.
Mappings are considered from left to right. The first src_value that matches the value of the source variable causes the target variable to receive the value indicated by the dest_value. Literal number, string, and range src_value's should be self-explanatory. MISSING as a src_value matches any user- or system-missing value. SYSMIS matches the system missing value only. ELSE is a catch-all that matches anything. It should be the last src_value specified.
Numeric and string dest_value's should also be self-explanatory. COPY causes the input values to be copied to the output. This is only value if the source and target variables are of the same type. SYSMIS indicates the system-missing value.
If the source variables are strings and the target variables are numeric, then there is one additional mapping available: (CONVERT), which must be the last specified mapping. CONVERT causes a number specified as a string to be converted to a numeric value. If the string cannot be parsed as a number, then the system-missing value is assigned.
Multiple recodings can be specified on a single RECODE invocation. Introduce additional recodings with a slash (/) to separate them from the previous recodings.