Using Dates with the INPUT Command
The INPUT command also supports dates. You can load a date into a date or string variable. For string variables, use the TYPE=DATE qualifier. Specify a format for the date. Here is a code example:
input $start_date 'Enter starting date' type=date format='dd/mm/yyyy'
In this example, the user is prompted with Enter starting date: (the colon is automatically added). The user then enters the value, which is validated as a date by using the dd/mm/yyyy format. The value is loaded into the $start_date variable.