As SSC is apparently not currently being updated, I would like to announce
a new package, -inccat-, on my website at
http://www.kcl-phs.org.uk/rogernewson/. It will presumably be available
from tomorrow by typing -findit inccat- or -net search inccat-.
-inccat- ("include and concatenate") is an extended version of -copy-,
allowing the copying of multiple input text files to one output text file
and, optionally, the insertion of extra input files in the output file.
Therefore, if you type
and -myinf1.txt-, -myinf2.txt- annd/or -myinf3.txt- contain lines like
*insert myinf4.txt myinf5.txt
then the same concatenation is done, except that, in -myoutf.txt-, these
lines will be replaced by the concatenated contents of -myinf4.txt- and
-myinf5.txt-. This substitution is also done with the contents of inserted
files. I find these file insertion facilities particularly useful if I am
creating a HTML output file containing a table, using one HTML input file
containing the table rows (which I might update regularly using my
-listtex- package) and another HTML input file file containing the rest of
the table (which I might update occasionally).
-inccat- is made possible by the -file- command, and also by the fact that
Stata is a recursive language (like C or Pascal), in which a program can
call itself. (Note for the worried: -inccat- contains safeguards to stop it
from attempting to create infinite files, as might otherwise happen in the
previous example if -myinf1.txt- contained lines like
*insert myinf1.txt myinf1.txt myinf1.txt
or other monstrosities.)
Best wishes
Roger
--
Roger Newson
Lecturer in Medical Statistics
Department of Public Health Sciences
King's College London
5th Floor, Capital House
42 Weston Street
London SE1 3QD
United Kingdom
Tel: 020 7848 6648 International +44 20 7848 6648
Fax: 020 7848 6620 International +44 20 7848 6620
or 020 7848 6605 International +44 20 7848 6605
Email: [email protected]
Opinions expressed are those of the author, not the institution.
