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RE: st: problem creating and doing a foreach on a local of all numeric variables in a dataset


From   "Nick Cox" <[email protected]>
To   <[email protected]>
Subject   RE: st: problem creating and doing a foreach on a local of all numeric variables in a dataset
Date   Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:23:13 +0100

To expand a little: 

local num_vars r(varlist)

will just put the literal text "r(varlist)" in your macro. It won't put
the contents of r(varlist) in your macro. 

Also 

local num_vars r(varlist)
foreach var of local `num_vars' {

is equivalent to 

foreach var of local r(varlist) { 

which doesn't satisfy -foreach- because r(varlist) is not the name of a
local macro. 

It is true that the error messages in each case are not illuminating! 

Nick 
[email protected] 

Maarten buis

try:
foreach var of varlist `r(varlist)' {
 
That is: adding a "`" and a "'" around r(varlist)

Jennifer S. Earl

> In the middle of a program I am working on, I need to set a bunch of 
> variables to missing, some of which are numeric and some of which are
> 
> string. Since the replace command is sensitive to numeric or string,
> I need 
> to do separate foreach loops.
> 
> Here is what I have tried:
> 
> ds , has(type numeric)
> local num_vars r(varlist)
> foreach var of local num_vars {
> 	replace `var'=. if `var'_error==1
> }
> 
> ds , has(type string)
> local string_vars r(varlist)
> foreach var of local string_vars {
> 	replace `var'="" if `var'_error==1
> }
> 
> Unfortunately, when I try this, I get the following error:
> time-series operators not allowed
> r(101);
> 
> If I do instead (in case if is my foreach line that is giving me
> problems):
> ds , has(type numeric)
> local num_vars r(varlist)
> foreach var of local `num_vars' {
> 	replace `var'=. if `var'_error==1
> }
> 
> I get the following error:
> { required
> r(100);
> 
> But, the puzzling part is that I see the right list of numeric
> variables 
> displayed if I do:
> 
> ds , has(type numeric)
> local num_vars r(varlist)
> display `num_vars'
> 
> So, I know I am fetching the right list, I am just not able to
> operate on 
> it in the foreach loop.
> 
> I have tried other ways of selecting off just the numeric variables
> and 
> just the string and none are working.
> 
> Any suggestions? Maybe it is late and I missing something obvious?

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