You can do this
program myprog
version 8.2
args exptno
< stuff >
... `exptno'rn.csv
... `exptno'dis.csv
...
This needs a little care if `exptno' contains spaces.
Nick
[email protected]
Juan Solon
> I am new to writing programs. I would like to ask for advise on a
> program for standardising our lab reports using stata.
>
> The bottom line is I would like to type in 1 common
> identifier , in this
> case the experiment number (exptno) that is present in the
> filename and
> the program does the rest, depending on the suffix of the files it
> finds.
>
> I am at the stage that I have to type
> pgmname exptnodis.csv, exptnorn.csv, and exptnores.csv
> assigning each file to a macro 1-3.
>
> I want to get to the stage where I type:
> pgmname exptno
> will create three different graphs using the files exptnorn.csv,
> exptnodis.csv, and exptnores.csv and combine them
>
> Details
>
> I am using a quantiative PCR machine in the laboratory and for each
> experiment, I generate three comma separated files. Each file is
> identified by the experiment number and an identifier that I type in
> from the lab machine.
>
> Thus, I would have for experiment RQ01, the following files:
> rq01rn.csv
> rq01dis.csv
> rq01res.csv
>
> Each file is used for a specific graph. To create the graph requires
> reshaping and creating a few new variables.
>
> I currently have a program that i called called qpcr that
> will work such
> that :
> qpcr rq01rn.csv rq01dis.csv rq01res.csv
> will create three different graphs and save them accordingly.
>
> I have written a do file to combine the three graphs but this still
> requires me to type in each graph name withine the do file -
> or I could
> write a program, but it would be similar to the one above and would
> require me to write three different .gph names after the program name
>
> I want to improve on this so that I only need to type
> qpcr exptname or in this instance, qpcr rq01
> 1. to create three separate graphs from three different files coming
> from experiment rq01; and
> 2. to combine them
>
> I am unsure as to how to proceed next.
> I thought that my first hurdle would be to get stata to execute three
> separate commands based on a common identifier (in this case exptname)
> but each command is to be run on different files, with each
> file bearing
> the exptname but differing in its suffix.
>
> I thought that the simplest way to do this was to ask Stata
> to read the
> file names of the files that begin with rq01 and to run the
> appropriate
> graph command that I have written based on the differing suffixes (one
> graph for rn, one for dis, one for res).
>
> I was then hoping to use the same solution to go on to the next step
> which is to combine three different graphs bearing a common experiment
> name but differing in it suffix to be incorporated into the program
> qpcr.
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