Re: st: RE: RE: searchable list of commands/options for various Stata versions

[Richard Williams <Richard.A.Williams.5@ND.edu>]

At 01:50 PM 4/2/2008, Nick Cox wrote:
> The short answer is, again: Because one is documented, and the other
> isn't.
There is also the fact that old commands may eventually stop working, 
except under version control.


> I can see a case for documenting old names as well as new, but the
> cost-benefit analysis does not seem clear-cut to me. Where does one draw
> the line, for example? Perhaps there are users who can remember that the
> -log- command had a different name in Stata 1.0.
I think the biggest argument for documenting old commands is that 
they do continue to work, under version control.  When you are trying 
to understand how a command works and/or want to update it using 
newer Stata features, it can be frustrating when you can't find any 
documentation on the command.  So, like Alan, I wish there were 
easier ways to dig into the past.  And when you think about it, 
because of version control, there really is no such thing as an "old" 
command in Stata, because virtually every command that ever existed 
is still part of Stata.


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Richard Williams, Notre Dame Dept of Sociology
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