Yes, that's what I meant. I am suggesting Stata Corp put up more information
on what the syntax used to be so that old (or oldstyle) user-written
commands are more comprehensible to me (and possibly others).
I have to admit that I was indeed unclear because what I am interested in
goes beyond old commands and refers to limitations about variable name
length, macro length...
I am aware that something called -search , historical- already exists, but
if it can already be used to accomplish what I would like, I am not
proficient enough in guessing my keywords to use it profitably.
I knew of -help graph7- but you can't find -help for7- for example (as an
aside, I don't know how many people know of -help graph7-, I got alerted to
the command7 trick for the very reason that originated my post, intreg7
which is there as a command but not as a help file)
A concrete example of why this is needed (or at least why I need it) is the
following: -version 8: intreg- breaks fitstat. I of course emailed the
author whether he could kindly provide support.
Then I decided to open up fitstat and to try to fix it on my own. I believe
I did limitedly to the part I need. But I am puzzled about the following
. * to deal with rhsnam gt 80 characters, can't use string functions
Of course my confusion might well be about Stata8 Intercooled, because maybe
that can't happen even in stata8 Intercooled, but it is my understanding
that in Stata8 Intercooled the only limitations to 80 characters is in the
variable label, not for strings functions in general.
Anyway, I think I got Stata8 right and I think I don't understand something
else in Stata6. What else I don't understand, I am not sure and that's why I
would need to read it up.
Ways in which it could work:
1) load up previous helps in all copies of stata using the command7,
command6, command5 ... Convention. Similarly for key words in order to use
-search- e.g. -search mathematical7- ...
But I think this would clutter the stata far too much, so although this is
the easiest solution of all I did not even propose it.
2) put the previous helps on the StataCorp website as they are/were (i.e.
without attaching the number version to the tail of the command) and create
a new option for -help- and -search- option -, version()- so that if the
option is specified the help knows it has to go on the StataCorp website in
the place where the help for that version is stored.
That's just a suggestion.
Best,
Renzo Comolli
----------------------------------------------
/* From "Nick Cox" <[email protected]> */
To <[email protected]>
Subject st: RE: Wish: add a -help , version()- option
Date Mon, 10 Nov 2003 09:27:26 -0000
I am not clear on what you're
asking for here. Is that Stata Corp put
up more information on what the syntax
used to be so that old (or oldstyle)
user-written commands are more comprehensible
to you?
In what is to me the obvious example,
the syntax for oldstyle -graph- is
accessible at -help graph7- and that
is needed to understand some old programs.
Otherwise I would like to see some concrete
example(s) of how this is needed and
how you think it might work.
Nick
[email protected]
*
* 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/
