> Dear Stata users
> 
> Using 
> 
> . do "... \square.do"
> 
> . program define square
>   1. version 7.0
>   2. gettoken n 0 : 0, parse(" ,")
>   3. local nsquared1=`n'^2
>   4. local nsquared2=(`n'*`n')
>   5. di "`nsquared1'   `nsquared2'"
>   6. end
> . 
> end of do-file
> 
> I observe the following misbehaviour of the power operator "^2"
> 
> . square -2
> -4   4
> 
This is because the power operator takes precedence over the negation
operator.  Compare:
di  -2^2
di (-2)^2
So if you edit your square program accordingly, you should be fine.
Nick Winter
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