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st: RE: Constructe a string variable


From   "Kompal Sinha" <[email protected]>
To   <[email protected]>
Subject   st: RE: Constructe a string variable
Date   Thu, 17 Apr 2003 13:29:47 +1000

If the variable X is in the string format:
U can try this way(may be a long way):
Gen str3 Y = string(.)
replace  Y = string(0)+ string(0)+X if X< string(10)
replace  Y = string(0)+X if X> string(9)& X<string(100)
replace  Y = X if Y==.
drop X
rename Y X

Kompal
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2003 12:53 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: st: Constructe a string variable


Dear Listers:

Suppose I have a string variable with 3 position on each observations.
Each of these observations contains some values range from 1-999.
i.e.:
       X
obs1   1
obs2   12
obs3   123
(though all entries are numerical, but variable X is of string format)

My purpose is to reconstruct this variable to be the following formate:
       X
obs1   001
obs2   023
obs3   345

i.e. I want to replace the left postition for each observation with "0" if
nothing here.

I have tried the following method:

gen str1 X1=substr(X, 1, 1)
gen str2 X2=substr(X, 2, 1)
gen str3 X3=substr(X, 3, 1)

my idea is that if I can divide original variable(X) into 3 pieces, and then
I
can replace the missing( or " ") into 0, and then re-combine the variable.

However, in the above data example.
the X1 (=substr(X,1,1) is always equal to:

obs1 1
obs2 2
obs2 3

(the corerct one should be:
obs1
obs2
obs2 3

That means, the function of -string- or -substr- in Stata will always return
the first values of that observations no matter its' real position.
I am just wondering whether anyone knows an easier function or command to
deal
with that?


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