Re: st: A modest proposal - missing data doesn't count

[Phil Schumm <pschumm@uchicago.edu>]

On Jun 14, 2010, at 11:52 AM, Allan Reese (Cefas) wrote:
> Feeling aggrieved at years of typing expressions like "if x>10 &  
> x<.", and feeling sure there must be lots of wrong results from  
> Stata because users didn't notice that "x>10" includes cases with  
> the missing value, might I request a new code function?
>
> The name value() is available. While users would have to remember to  
> use it, it would quickly become a habit to type "if value(x)>10"  
> etc, with the effect that the expression would evaluate as true only  
> when x had a non-missing value.  A check box could be added to the  
> menu interface as a reminder.


So, you're proposing that value(.) evaluate to a number smaller than  
mindouble()?  What about value(.) < value(.a), should that evaluate to  
True?  If so, then the function might more aptly be named sasval(),  
since in effect what it would be doing is treating missing values the  
way they're treated in SAS.  Of course, while that would enable you to  
type expressions like

    if 10 < x

without thinking about missing values, it would then mean that you  
would have to start thinking about missing values every time you typed

    if x < 10

So, you'd address one issue, but create another.


-- Phil

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