Re: st: -capture noisily- shorthand

[annoporci <annoporci@gmail.com>]

> In practice, experienced Stata programmers don't use them

> In practice, I would use a local macro for this purpose.

Thanks Nick, will do!


> I see no case for allowing the abbreviated command -cn-, as it is too  
> cryptic.

yes, it sort of sounds a little bit like a shorthand for "China" (which is  
where I live by the way).

Thanks Nick for your instant reply,

Patrick.

----
Patrick Toche.





On Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:35:38 +0800, Nick Cox <njcoxstata@gmail.com> wrote:

> The problem with global macros is that this definition might clash
> with other definitions used in other programs.
>
> In practice, experienced Stata programmers don't use them unless
> really needed, for precisely this reason, so your main risk is that
> you forget about this definition when also using different code of
> your own.
>
> In practice, I would use a local macro for this purpose. This is more
> a matter of style than anything else.
>
> I see no case for allowing the abbreviated command -cn-, as it is too  
> cryptic.
>
> Nick
>
> On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 12:27 PM, annoporci <annoporci@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I want to systematically use -capture noisily- throughout a do-file with
> > multiple loops (as some fail).
> >
> > The shortest form for it is -cap n-
> >
> > Not bad. However, I thought it would be neater to have something even
> > shorter, say -cn-. Unfortunately that's an "unrecognized command"
> > (implemented in a future version of Stata maybe?)
> >
> > I defined a macro to store "capture noisily" and repeatedly use the  
> > macro.
> > See the example code below.
> >
> > I used a "global" macro so that I could use the dollar sign in front of  
> > it
> > -- easy to type and remember.
> >
> > The trick seems to work, but is it an acceptable practice? any pitfalls?
> >
> > many thanks.
> >
> > --
> > Patrick Toche.
> >
> >
> > /// Different ways of preceding a command with -capture noisily-
> >
> > clear all
> >
> > sysuse auto
> >
> > capture noisily regress price mpg rep78
> >
> > cap n reg price mpg rep78
> >
> > cap n reg price mpg rep79
> >
> > global cn "capture noisily"
> >
> > $cn reg price mpg rep78
> >
> > $cn reg price mpg rep79
> >
> > regress price mpg rep78
> *
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--
Patrick Toche.
*
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