RE: st: RE: assigning same number to slightly different string var.

[Nick Cox <n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk>]

If you had specified use of Stata 8, I would (probably) have remembered that -index()- is the function in your case. 

More importantly, the art of using the function is clearly to specify a substring to catch all the possibilities you want and none of the possibilities you don't want. Nothing rules out a compound condition with 

if index(myvar, "FTSE") & index(myvar, "UK") 

or even 

if index(myvar, "FTSE") & !index(myvar, "UK")

Nick 
n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk 

Philip Hantschk

Thanks for the quick answer. i work with stata 8, so i had to use index( instead of strpos(. 
It works fine, but i have a little problem left. For example an index is called FTSE Europe and another FTSE Europe ex UK. These are 2 different Indices and I want to assign different numbers, but when i write
replace newvar = 1 if index(myvar, "FTSE Europe") it changes both.

As I write this message I think I have a solution. I first change all FTSE to 1, then FTSE Europe to 1, then FTSE Europe ex UK to 2, then FTSE Europe USD to 3 etc. From short to long.

What do you think of that idea? or is there an easier way?

Philip Hantschk 

> Von: Nick Cox <n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk>

> You want a new  variable, which could be constructed like this 
> 
> gen newvar = . 
> replace newvar = 1 if strpos(myvar, "500") 
> replace newvar = 2 if strpos(myvar, "Dax") 
> ... 
> 
> -if strpos(,)- is equivalent to -if strpos(,) > 0-. 
> 
> tab myvar if missing(newvar) 
> 
> will tell you what you missed. 
> 
> You will also want to define value labels and assign them. 
> 
> Nick 
> n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk 
> 
> Philip Hantschk
> 
> i have a set of data containing names of indices, like S&P 500, Dax 30
> etc. I want to assign numbers to the indices, so that S&P 500=1, Dax 30=2 etc.
> The problem is, that the in the observations, S&P 500 has different ways
> of writing, e.g. Standard and Poor's 500, S&P 500, S&P 500 Index, etc. 
> 
> My question is, is there a way to assign numbers automatically, like tell
> Stata to give every observation that contains "500" the "1".
> 

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