Re: st: Unable to create local macro in modified ado-file (xtreg_fe.ado)

[Bert Lloyd <bert.lloyd.89@gmail.com>]

Hello all,

Thank you very much for the discussion.

Regarding Nick Cox's valuable suggested partial test (macrotest), that
and other similar tests work fine in ado-files that I create myself
from scratch, as well as others borrowed from co-workers, etc. This
problem has only occurred when attempting to modify Stata ado-files.

Regarding the hypothesis that there are other copies of the ado-files
creating problems, I have scoured my personal ado folder and am
certain that there are no old copies there. Also, any modifications I
make to the code (for example changing the number of stars in my
noisily di "*** [etc]" lines immediately have their intended effect.

Regarding the possibility of a well-hidden typo, of course I cannot
exclude this entirely but I have proofread quite carefully, done
searches for l vs 1, etc.

Regarding the mysterious "est hidden scalar" line, I am not sure what
that is but it appears verbatim in Stata 12.0's xtreg_fe.ado (in the
Stata12/ado/base/x folder, v1.8.3). It does not appear in Stata 11.2's
xtreg_fe.ado (in the Stata11/ado/update/x folder, v1.7.7), so it
appears to be something new to Stata 12.

I have adjusted the simple example accordingly, creating
xtreg_fe_s112_v177_modified.ado from the Stata 11 version and
xtreg_fe_s12_v183_modified.ado from the Stata 12 version, and adjusted
the test_xtreg_fe_modified.do file to call the correct ado-file
depending on the version of Stata being run (11.2 vs 12). Links to all
3 files are provided below. In both cases, the results are the same as
in my original test and with Dan Klein's macval workaround -- the
standard way does not produce anything, while macval() does work.

Links to updated do- and ado-files:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/57392331/xtreg_fe/test_xtreg_fe_modified.do
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/57392331/xtreg_fe/xtreg_fe_s12_v183_modified.ado
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/57392331/xtreg_fe/xtreg_fe_s112_v177_modified.ado

Again, thanks to all for the suggestions and and further thoughts
greatly appreciated.

 - BL
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