In SAS, the PROC SORT procedure is used to sort data. To save the sorted data into a new dataset, the OUT= option is used in the PROC SORT statement. This option allows you to specify the name of the output dataset that will contain the sorted data.

Here is how it's used:

proc sort data=original out=sorted; by variable; run; will sort the dataset original by variable and create a new dataset named sorted containing the sorted data.

Option A, Data=, is not valid for the PROC SORT procedure. Option B, SORTOUT=, is a common misconception but is not correct; OUT= is the right option. Option C, OUTPUT=, is not used within PROC SORT; it is used in other procedures such as PROC TABULATE and PROC SUMMARY for output datasets.

SAS 9.4 documentation for the PROC SORT statement: SAS Help Center: PROC SORT