st: Transform matrices

[u.atz@lse.ac.uk]

Dear matrix wizards,

I tried to get a column vector into a matrix format, such as

1
2
3
4
5
6

 into 

1	2
3	4
5	6

for a general specification.

My clumsy solution was to create two loops

clear
mat def A = (1\ 2\ 3\ 4\ 5\ 6)

forvalues n = 1(2)5 {
	mat a`n' = A[`n', 1]
	if `n' == 1	local m = "`n'"
		else local m = "`m' \ `n'"
	mat c1 = (`m')
}

forvalues n = 2(2)6 {
	mat a`n' = A[`n', 1]
	if `n' == 2	local k = "`n'"
		else local k = "`k' \ `n'"
	mat c2 = (`k')
}

mat B = (c1, c2)

mat list B


Surely there is a more elegant (and more general) way? Perhaps Mata is the solution?

This is a rather academic exercise, but it would be nice if someone could share his/her potential code example.

Cheers,
Ulrich


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