The LINKSQUERYVAR statement enables you to explicitly specify the data variable names for PROC NETWORK to use when it reads the data table that you specify in the LINKSQUERY= option in the PROC NETWORK statement. This option is supported only when used in conjunction with the PATTERNMATCH statement. For more information about this input table, see the section Pattern Matching.
You can specify the following options:
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FROM=column
FROMVAR=column
specifies the name of the data variable for the from nodes. The value of the variable can be numeric or character. The default name is from.
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TO=column
TOVAR=column
specifies the name of the data variable for the to nodes. The value of the variable can be numeric or character. The default name is to.
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VARS=(columns)
specifies the names of the data variables to read. The value of the variables can be numeric or character.
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VARSMATCH=(columns)
specifies the names of the data variables to match in the query graph. The value of the variables can be numeric or character. By default, the variables to match are the same as the variables read (as specified in the VARS= option). A common use case of the VARSMATCH= option is when you want to use query graph link attributes in a filter function without forcing an exact attribute match. To do this, specify these variables in the VARS= option but not in the VARSMATCH= option.