st: New SSC versions of -descsave-, -parmest-, -xcollapse- and -xcontract-

[Roger Newson <roger.newson@kcl.ac.uk>]

Hello All

Thanks to Kit Baum, there are now new versions of the packages -descsave-, 
-parmest-, -xcollapse- and -xcontract- downloadable from SSC. In Stata, 
type -ssc desc <package_name>- to find out more.

-descsave-, -parmest-, -xcollapse- and -xcontract- are described as below 
on my website, and are my 4 resultsset-generating packages. A resultsset is 
an output Stata data set created by a Stata program, and can in turn be 
input into other Stata programs, which output the plots and tables which 
statisticians (and other scientists) are paid to produce. The new versions 
of all 4 packages now have -idnum()- and -idstr()- options (previously only 
available for -descsave- and -parmest-), which define numeric and string 
identifier variables for the resultsset, so the user can then concatenate 
multiple resultssets (or subsets of resultssets) into the memory, using the 
-dsconcat- package, and will still be able to identify which observations 
were input from which resultsset. (The -dsconcat- package is also 
downloadable from SSC.) The new version of -descsave- now has -gsort()- and 
-keep()- options, which are useful if the user wants to -merge- the 
resultsset on disk into an existing data set in memory. Also, the new 
versions of -parmest-, -xcollapse- and -xcontract- have had the Syntax and 
Examples clarified, so it is now clear that the option -list(,)- is a legal 
way of listing the whole resultsset to the log.

I would like to thank Nick Cox for coining the term "resultsset", which he 
has used a few times on Statalist.

Best wishes

Roger

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package descsave from http://www.kcl-phs.org.uk/rogernewson/stata7
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TITLE
      descsave: Extension of describe creating output files

DESCRIPTION/AUTHOR(S)
      descsave is an extended version of describe, which creates up to 2 
output files.
      One is a Stata data set with 1 observation per variable and data on 
variable
      attributes (name, type, format, variable label, value label, and 
selected
      characteristics). The other is a Stata do-file which reconstructs these
      attributes when run, assuming that the variable exists and is of the 
correct
      mode (numeric or string). descsave can be used to reconstruct 
variables that
      have been output to a generic spreadsheet using outsheet and then 
input using
      insheet, or variables that have been extracted (using factext) from 
the label
      variable of an output data set created by parmby or parmest. (The 
parmest and
      factext packages are downloadable from this website or from SSC.)

      Author: Roger Newson
      Date: 17 February 2004
      Stata version: 7

INSTALLATION FILES                                  (click here to install)
      descsave.ado
      descsave.hlp
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(click here to return to the previous screen)

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package parmest from http://www.kcl-phs.org.uk/rogernewson/stata8
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TITLE
      parmest: Convert estimation results to a data set with 1 obs per 
parameter

DESCRIPTION/AUTHOR(S)
      parmest creates an output data set, with 1 observation per parameter 
of the
      most recent estimation results, and variables corresponding to 
parameter names,
      estimates, standard errors, z- or t-test statistics, P-values, 
confidence
      limits and other parameter attributes. parmby is a quasi-byable 
extension to
      parmest, which calls an estimation command, and creates a new data 
set, with 1
      observation per parameter if the by() option is unspecified, or 1 
observation
      per parameter per by-group if the by() option is specified. The 
output data
      set may be listed to the Stata log and/or saved to a file and/or 
retained in
      memory (overwriting any pre-existing data set).

      Author: Roger Newson
      Distribution-Date: 17february2004
      Stata-Version: 8

INSTALLATION FILES                                  (click here to install)
      parmest.ado
      parmest.hlp
      parmby.ado
      parmby.hlp
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(click here to return to the previous screen)

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package xcollapse from http://www.kcl-phs.org.uk/rogernewson/stata8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TITLE
      xcollapse: Make data set of summary statistics on disk or in memory

DESCRIPTION/AUTHOR(S)
      xcollapse is an extended version of collapse, which creates a data 
set with
      one observation per combination of values of a list of variables in the
      existing data set and new variables containing summary statistics of 
other
      variables (eg means) in each combination. xcollapse allows the user 
to choose
      the destination of the output data set, which may either be listed 
to the
      Stata log, or saved to a disk file, or written to the memory 
(overwriting any
      existing data set).

      Author: Roger Newson
      Distribution-Date: 17february2004
      Stata-Version: 8

INSTALLATION FILES                                  (click here to install)
      xcollapse.ado
      xcollapse.hlp
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(click here to return to the previous screen)


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package xcontract from http://www.kcl-phs.org.uk/rogernewson/stata8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TITLE
      xcontract: Make data set of frequencies and percents on disk or in 
memory

DESCRIPTION/AUTHOR(S)
      xcontract is an extended version of contract. It creates a data set 
with one
      observation per combination of values of a list of variables in the 
existing
      data set and new variables containing the frequency and percent of each
      combination, and, optionally, the cumulative frequency and percent 
of each
      combination. A list of by-variables can be used with xcontract, and the
      percents will then be calculated within by-groups. The output data 
set may
      either be listed to the Stata log, or saved to a disk file, or 
written to the
      memory (overwriting any existing data set).

      Author: Roger Newson
      Distribution-Date: 17february2004
      Stata-Version: 8

INSTALLATION FILES                                  (click here to install)
      xcontract.ado
      xcontract.hlp
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(click here to return to the previous screen)

--
Roger Newson
Lecturer in Medical Statistics
Department of Public Health Sciences
King's College London
5th Floor, Capital House
42 Weston Street
London SE1 3QD
United Kingdom

Tel: 020 7848 6648 International +44 20 7848 6648
Fax: 020 7848 6620 International +44 20 7848 6620
  or 020 7848 6605 International +44 20 7848 6605
Email: roger.newson@kcl.ac.uk
Website: http://www.kcl-phs.org.uk/rogernewson

Opinions expressed are those of the author, not the institution.

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