Re: st: RE: ODBC vs. insheet variable format troubles (importing SQL data)

[Abe N <aben468@yahoo.com>]

Thanks David, I'll look into that to at least bring over the labels if I can't get other methods to work.

Abe Noorbakhsh
aben468@yahoo.com

--- On Wed, 1/23/13, David Radwin <dradwin@mprinc.com> wrote:

> From: David Radwin <dradwin@mprinc.com>
> Subject: st: RE: ODBC vs. insheet variable format troubles (importing SQL data)
> To: statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu
> Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2013, 1:51 PM
> I don't think it will help with
> storage formats, but you can save display
> formats and variable and value labels (assuming ODBC can
> import or create
> them) using Roger Newson's -descsave- (SSC).
> 
> http://www.stata.com/statalist/archive/2013-01/msg00257.html
> 
> 
> David
> --
> David Radwin
> Senior Research Associate
> MPR Associates, Inc.
> 2150 Shattuck Ave., Suite 800
> Berkeley, CA 94704
> Phone: 510-849-4942
> Fax: 510-849-0794
> 
> www.mprinc.com
> 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu
> [mailto:owner-
> > statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu]
> On Behalf Of Abe N
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 1:07 PM
> > To: statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu
> > Subject: st: ODBC vs. insheet variable format troubles
> (importing SQL
> > data)
> > 
> > Hello Everyone,
> > 
> > Basically wondering if there is a way I can conserve
> variable data
> formats
> > when I bring data manually from SQL to STATA using
> insheet (see below
> for
> > more explanation and trouble I had with ODBC).
> > 
> > I was originally told by the people maintaining the SQL
> database to use:
> > 
> > odbc load, exec("Select command here")
> dsn("databasename") lowercase
> > 
> > to bring data into STATA, which seemed to be working
> great for my
> purposes
> > until I did a duplicates report and found that I had
> way too many
> > duplicates.  After cross-checking by record_id
> (unique) with the
> original
> > SQL data I found the odbc command wasn't importing data
> properly.  I had
> > already set up the variable list though (some were too
> long so I had to
> > manually rename them), so I used describe and I think
> display
> > "`r(varlist)'", copied that varlist to a text file for
> what I would do
> in
> > my next step using insheet.
> > 
> > Basically, ran my SQL query in SQL Server Management
> Studio 2008 R2,
> saved
> > the results/data as a tab delimited text and used:
> > 
> > insheet (list of 160 variables) using data.txt, tab
> > 
> > Which seems to be working great.  The only problem
> I'm having now is
> that
> > while odbc maintained the variable data formats (string
> vs double, etc
> > from SQL), this new method doesn't and it would be much
> easier for me if
> > it didn't convert some of my strings into numbers,
> etc.
> > 
> > So what I'm wondering is if there's a way I can sort of
> generate the
> > variables, their data formats, and labels using my
> original odbc method,
> > clear out that incorrect data, and then pull in data
> from the text file
> > afterward?  If not, is there a way I can carry
> over at least the
> variable
> > labels quickly rather than manually doing all 160 or
> so?
> > 
> > Sorry for the long winded explanation, but hope the
> situation/question
> > gets across clearly.
> > 
> > Best,
> > Abe Noorbakhsh
> > aben468@yahoo.com
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