Re: st: RE: Knowing how a variable was generated

[Richard Goldstein <richgold@ix.netcom.com>]

note that there is a program for this, -defv-; use -findit-

however, this program does not work with -egen- and does not work with
-by- (and does not always work with Stata 11 either)

Rich

On 11/1/10 5:43 AM, Ulrich Kohler wrote:
> I principal it is also possible to store this information as note: 
> 
> . sysuse auto
> . gen x = weight - 1
> . note x: gen x = weight - 1
> 
> . replace x = weight +1
> . note x : replace x = weight + 1
> 
> . note x
> 
> Clearly it is possible to write programms (i.e. -gennote- and
> -replacenote-) that do this automatically. The question however arise
> why someone who is not willing to give away his do-files should use
> these programs when creating a data set ...
> 
> Uli
> 
> 
> Am Sonntag, den 31.10.2010, 17:41 +0000 schrieb Louis Boakye-Yiadom:
>> That's correct. I'm looking at a situation where the do-file is not available. Indeed, often you may have to work with a dataset for which you played no role in the generation of the variables. Thanks.
>>
>> Louis
>>
>>
>> --- On Sun, 31/10/10, Nick Cox <n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> Indeed. But Louis' question, and my
>>> answers, presuppose that was not done. 
>>>
>>> Nick 
>>> n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk
>>>
>>>
>>> Michael McCulloch
>>>
>>> Wouldn't it be sufficient to simple record the work in a
>>> do-file that documents the command:
>>>     gen B = (A*C) + D, or
>>>     gen B = A*(C + D)?
>>>
>>> On Oct 31, 2010, at 9:46 AM, Nick Cox wrote:
>>>
>>>> There are programs that enable users to record
>>> definitions of variables as they generate or replace them.
>>> See e.g. -labgen- from SSC and especially its references. 
>>>>
>>>> More generally, if users employed variable labels or
>>> characteristics to record the definition of variables --
>>> then your problem is indeed soluble. 
>>>>
>>>> I didn't imagine that's what you had in mind, as if
>>> you knew that definitions were stored that way it's hard to
>>> see why your question arises. 
>>>  
>>> Louis Boakye-Yiadom
>>>  
>>>  Nick, thanks for the reply. I was thinking that if it's
>>> possible for Stata to store information on the generation of
>>> the variable (at least in simple cases), it might be
>>> possible to have this feature in Stata.
>>>  
>>> Nick Cox
>>>  
>>>>> In general, no. How could there be? 
>>>>>
>>>>> However, in simple cases for Y calculated somehow
>>> from X,
>>>>> looking at graphs of Y vs  X might give a
>>> clue. 
>>>  
>>> Louis Boakye-Yiadom
>>>  
>>>>> If some of the variables in a dataset were
>>> generated by a
>>>>> transformation or combination of some other
>>> variable(s) in
>>>>> the data, is it possible to know this without
>>> seeing the
>>>>> relevant log or do file? For example, consider a
>>> situation
>>>>> where the variables in the data include A, B, C,
>>> and D, and
>>>>> B was generated as follows:
>>>>> B = A*C + D
>>>>> Is there a command for determining how B was
>>> generated?
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