st: New packages/versions of -dolog-, -dotex- and -dologx- on SSC

[Roger Newson <roger.newson@kcl.ac.uk>]

Dear All

Thanks to Kit Baum, there are now new versions of the -dolog- and -dotex- 
packages, and a new package -dologx-, downloadable from SSC. In Stata, type 
-ssc desc dolog-, -ssc desc dotex- and -ssc desc dologx- to find out more.

The -dolog- package executes a do-file named filename.do and echoes the 
commands automatically to a new text log file filename.log. The new version 
is upgraded from Stata 6 to Stata 7, and therefore has a better help file. 
Stata 6 users can still download the old Stata 6 -dolog- package from my 
website at
http://www.kcl-phs.org.uk/rogernewson/

The -dotex- package is a version of -dolog-, which creates a Stata Journal 
(SJ) LaTeX log file filename.tex instead of a text log file. The user can 
then include filename.tex (or parts of it) in a SJ submission. The user can 
therefore use -dotex-, -dolog- and -do- to run the same do-file, creating a 
SJ LaTeX log, a text log, and no log, respectively. The new version is 
still Stata 7, but has a slightly improved help file.

The -dologx- package contains multiple versions of -dolog-, written in 
multiple versions of Stata, for executing certification scripts. Usually, a 
do-file should include a -version- statement at or near the top, so it will 
still execute in a similar way if the user runs it after the next Stata 
upgrade. Certification scripts are an exception to this rule, because the 
same certification script may be executed under multiple versions of Stata, 
to show that the package being certified still works in the same way under 
different Stata versions (Gould, 2001). Therefore, if a certification 
script is executed using -dolog-, then it will execute under the Stata 
version in which -dolog- is written. Therefore, a certification script 
should not be executed using the standard -dolog-, and the user should use 
the -dologx- package, using -dolog6- to execute the script under Stata 6, 
-dolog7- to execute the script under Stata 7, and -dolog8- to execute the 
script under Stata 8. The -dologx- package is distributed separately from 
the -dolog- package. This is because the -dologx- package is intended for 
use by advanced programmers (eg programmers who write certification 
scripts), and such advanced programmers will often have access to two 
versions of Stata at the same time while in transition from one version to 
another, and will therefore probably want to update their versions of 
-dologx- immediately when they start to have access to the new version of 
Stata, and to update their versions of the standard -dolog- later, when the 
transition is complete.

Best wishes

Roger

References

Gould, W. 2001. Statistical software certification.  The Stata Journal 1: 
29-50.

--
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: roger.newson@kcl.ac.uk

Opinions expressed are those of the author, not the institution.

*
*   For searches and help try:
*   http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/res/findit.html
*   http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
*   http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/