st: syntax command

[Richard Palmer-Jones <rpjstatalist@googlemail.com>]

Dear Readers

I am new to using the syntax command and am not having much success.So
help appreciated.

I have a data file with variables: beta rsq obs cov sddep, and want to
compute a new variable from them

program define myprogname
syntax varname, new(varname) rsq(varname) obs(varname)  cov(varname)
sddep(varname)
* it just so happens the macro names in the syntax command are the
same as in the data file
....

end

I call the program with

myprogname beta, new(smd) rsq(rsquare) nobs(nobs) ncov(ncov) sddep(sddepvar)

and get the error:

  - syntax varname, new(varname) rsq(varname) obs(varname)
cov(varname) sddep(varname)
factor variables and time-series operators not allowed
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
end myprogname ---
r(101);


I have tried quite a number of variants, following examples at
"http://data.princeton.edu/stata/programming.aspx"; and in t Chris
Baum's "introduction to Stata Programming" chapter 12, but with no
succes with either this form or an egen form of program.

Thanks in advance for help, and appologies for being unable to solve
this myself.

Richard
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