On 9/25/03 1:57 PM, "Nick Cox" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Danielle H. Ferry
>
>> It has
>> become glaringly obvious that I don't understand the
>> purpose of -tempname-
>> here. Can someone please explain?
>
> Well, in fact, I guess it's dispensable.
>
> You need a postname; it's just a convention
> to use a temporary name, as that way Stata
> _guarantees_ that it will not get confused
> with any other file operations it may be
> doing concurrently.
>
> Without a tempname you lose that guarantee,
> but problems are perhaps unlikely in
> most situations. You would have to work
> quite hard at it e.g. using the same
> postname for different operations in different
> programs in the same session could produce
> an interesting mess.
>
> Nick
> [email protected]
I think I see. I should have been more clear, as I was asking more about the
purpose of the postname (regardless of whether you use a temporary name),
but I think I understand. The postname just specifies what will be posted
and ensures that what _is_ posted fits this profile.
Thank you, Nick & Nick for the thoughtful replies.
--
Danielle H. Ferry
National Bureau of Economic Research
365 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10016
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