In addition to the separate languages of steps (data step, procedural step), SAS also offers global statements.
Global statements can appear in and between any step. The influence the property of the global program rather than an individual step.
The execute as soon as the semicolon is reached. Their effect continues across subsequent steps until their setting is overridden by a similar statement.
Therefore, it's arguably cleaner to place global statement between steps rather than inside them.
The most prominent examples of global statements are