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Re: st: FW: How to compare file structure difference before append
From
Nick Cox <[email protected]>
To
[email protected]
Subject
Re: st: FW: How to compare file structure difference before append
Date
Wed, 9 Jan 2013 22:12:54 +0000
You may be right. I was trying to answer the question that was asked,
which often is wrong. But I think it usually takes a human to see that
the same name is being applied to different things, or the same thing
being named differently in different datasets.
I had completely forgotten that I wrote -cfvars-, but Rasool's post
just said "user-written". Now that it is mentioned, I can add that
Rasool is correct. -cfvars- does only what it is intended to do.
Nick
On Wed, Jan 9, 2013 at 7:19 PM, Rebecca Pope <[email protected]> wrote:
> -describe using- requires the user to spot the differences between the
> current data and the listed output, correct? Maybe I'm reading too
> much into the question but I thought Rasool was looking for a way have
> Stata do the comparing. That's just my inference based off of the
> reference to -cfvars-(1).
>
> -describe using- gave me an idea for a different approach though.
> Here's a modification to what I posted earlier.
>
> *** begin ***
> sysuse auto.dta, clear
> preserve
> tostring price, replace
> save autodemocopy.dta, replace
> describe , replace clear
> tempfile foobar
> save `"`foobar'"'
> restore
> preserve
> describe, replace clear
> merge 1:1 name type vallab varlab using `"`foobar'"'
> list name type vallab varlab if _merge!=3
> restore
> *** end ***
>
> This checks format and labels. It could be modified to any attribute
> that -describe- assesses. The -merge- can also be changed to keep only
> records that conflict. I've left it like this so all original
> variables still show up in "name" if the user wants to look at
> everything.
>
> (1) Nicholas J. Cox, 2009. "CFVARS: Stata module to compare variable
> name lists in two data sets," Statistical Software Components S457004,
> Boston College Department of Economics.
> http://ideas.repec.org/c/boc/bocode/s457004.html
>
> Rebecca
>
> On Wed, Jan 9, 2013 at 11:46 AM, Nick Cox <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 21 December I suggested -describe using-.
>>
>> http://www.stata.com/statalist/archive/2012-12/msg00790.html
>>
>> Nick
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 9, 2013 at 12:50 PM, rasool.bux <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> I have seen user written program -cfvars- but it is just comparing variable names. Any suggestions.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: rasool.bux
>>> Sent: Friday, December 21, 2012 11:17 AM
>>> To: '[email protected]'
>>> Subject: how to know the file structure difference before append
>>
>>> Is there any way to compare the dta file structure of two files to see the differences in varnames, types and formats?
>>>
>>> Then I want to use the append to combine the observations of both files.
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