st: -transint- updated on SSC

[n j cox <n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk>]

Thanks to Kit Baum, the -transint- package on SSC has been updated.

This package is a little unusual. It consists of a single help
file with guidance on transformations. Thus in Stata, once
the package has been installed, you can go

. help transint

and a document will open in your Viewer (or if you are using
Stata 8 or earlier, in your Results window). The document
mixes general statistical chit-chat with specific advice on how to
do transformations in Stata.

The package consists of three help files, actually.

transint.sthlp will be opened automatically by Stata 10
and ignored by earlier versions of Stata.

transint.hlp will be opened automatically by Stata 9 or
8. Stata 8 is required for this file to read as planned,
but most of it should be intelligible in earlier versions.

transint.sthlp and transint.hlp are identical internally.
The update consists of some words of wisdom about the merits
of cube roots, which grew out of a remark by Austin Nichols,
and some extra references.

(transint6.hlp is also in the package and should be
readable by Stata 6 or 7 as planned. This package is frozen
as was and has not been updated.)

This help file grew out of my own teaching handouts, once
I realised that it was more efficient to put a handout precisely
where students could read it when it was relevant, regardless of whether 
they had attended class, remembered to store the handout in
an appropriate place, and so forth. (I learnt the beautifully
simple idea that you can write your own help file on any topic
you like from a throw-away remark by Michael Hills.)

If interested, install as usual using -ssc-.

I welcome suggestions (privately) for any future update.

Nick
n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk
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