[R] ssc -- Install and uninstall packages from SSC
Syntax
Summary of packages most recently added or updated at SSC
ssc new [, saving(filename[, replace]) type]
Summary of most popular packages at SSC
ssc hot [, n(#) author(name)]
Describe a specified package at SSC
ssc describe { pkgname | letter } [, saving(filename[, replace])]
Install a specified package from SSC
ssc install pkgname [, all replace]
Uninstall from your computer a previously installed package from SSC
ssc uninstall pkgname
Type a specific file stored at SSC
ssc type filename [, asis]
Copy a specific file from SSC to your computer
ssc copy filename [, plus personal replace public binary]
where letter in ssc describe is a-z or _.
Description
ssc works with packages (and files) from the Statistical Software
Components (SSC) archive, which is often called the Boston College
Archive and is provided by http://www.repec.org.
The SSC has become the premier Stata download site for
community-contributed software on the web. ssc provides a convenient
interface to the resources available there. For example, on Statalist,
users will often write
The program can be found by typing ssc install newprogramname.
Typing that would load everything associated with newprogramname,
including the help files.
If you are searching for what is available, type ssc new and ssc hot, and
see [R] search. search searches the SSC and other places, too. search
provides a GUI interface from which programs can be installed, including
the programs at the SSC archive.
You can uninstall particular packages by using ssc uninstall. For the
packages that you keep, see [R] adoupdate for an automated way of keeping
those packages up to date.
Command overview
ssc new summarizes the packages made available or updated recently.
Output is presented in the Stata Viewer, and from there you may click
to find out more about individual packages or to install them.
ssc hot lists the most popular packages -- popular based on a moving
average of the number of downloads in the past three months. By
default, 10 packages are listed.
ssc describe pkgname describes, but does not install, the specified
package. Use search to find packages; see [R] search. If you know
the package name but do not know the exact spelling, type ssc
describe followed by one letter, a-z or _ (underscore), to list all
the packages starting with that letter.
ssc install pkgname installs the specified package. You do not have to
describe a package before installing it. (You may also install a
package by using net install; see [R] net.)
ssc uninstall pkgname removes the previously installed package from your
computer. It does not matter how the package was installed. (ssc
uninstall is a synonym for ado uninstall, so either may be used to
uninstall any package.)
ssc type filename types a specific file stored at SSC. ssc cat is a
synonym for ssc type, which may appeal to those familiar with Unix.
ssc copy filename copies a specific file stored at SSC to your computer.
By default, the file is copied to the current directory, but you can
use options to change this. ssc copy is a rarely used alternative to
ssc install ..., all. ssc cp is a synonym for ssc copy.
Options for use with ssc new
saving(filename[, replace]) specifies that the "what's new" summary be
saved in filename. If filename is specified without a suffix,
filename.smcl is assumed. If saving() is not specified,
saving(ssc_result.smcl) is assumed.
type specifies that the "what's new" results be displayed in the Results
window rather than in the Viewer.
Options for use with ssc hot
n(#) specifies the number of packages to list; n(10) is the default.
Specify n(.) to list all packages in order of popularity.
author(name) lists the 10 most popular packages by the specified author.
If n(#) is also specified, the top # packages are listed.
Option for use with ssc describe
saving(filename[, replace]) specifies that, in addition to the
description's being displayed on your screen, it be saved in the
specified file.
If filename is specified without an extension, .smcl will be assumed,
and the file will be saved as a SMCL file.
If filename is specified with an extension, no default extension is
added. If the extension is .log, the file will be stored as a text
file.
If replace is specified, filename is replaced if it already exists.
Options for use with ssc install
all specifies that any ancillary files associated with the package be
downloaded to your current directory, in addition to the program and
help files being installed. Ancillary files are files that do not
end in .ado or .sthlp and typically contain datasets or examples of
the use of the new command.
You can find out which files are associated with the package by
typing ssc describe pkgname before or after installing. If you
install without using the all option and then want the ancillary
files, you can ssc install again.
replace specifies that any files being downloaded that already exist on
your computer be replaced by the downloaded files. If replace is not
specified and any files already exist, none of the files from the
package is downloaded or installed.
It is better not to specify the replace option and wait to see if
there is a problem. If there is a problem, it is usually better to
uninstall the old package by using ssc uninstall or ado uninstall
(which are, in fact, the same command).
Option for use with ssc type
asis affects how files with the suffixes .smcl and .sthlp are displayed.
The default is to interpret SMCL directives the file might contain.
asis specifies that the file be displayed in raw, uninterpreted form.
Options for use with ssc copy
plus specifies that the file be copied to the PLUS directory, the
directory where community-contributed additions are installed.
Typing sysdir will display the identity of the PLUS directory on your
computer.
personal specifies that the file be copied to your PERSONAL directory as
reported by sysdir.
If neither plus nor personal is specified, the default is to copy the
file to the current directory.
replace specifies that, if the file already exists on your computer, the
new file replace it.
public specifies that the new file be made readable by everyone;
otherwise, the file will be created according to the default
permission you have set with your operating system.
binary specifies that the file being copied is a binary file and that it
is to be copied as is. The default is to assume that the file is a
text file and change the end-of-line characters to those appropriate
for your computer/operating system.
Remarks
Users can add new features to Stata, and some users choose to make new
features that they have written available to others via the web. The
files that comprise a new feature are called a package, and a package
usually consists of one or more ado-files and help files. The net
command makes it reasonably easy to install and uninstall packages
regardless of where they are on the web. One site, the SSC, has become
particularly popular as a repository for additions to Stata. Command ssc
is an easier to use version of net designed especially for the SSC.
Many packages are available at the SSC. Packages are named, such as
oaxaca, estout, or egenmore. At SSC, capitalization is not significant,
so Oaxaca, ESTOUT, and EGENmore are ways of writing the same package
names.
When you type
. ssc install oaxaca
the files associated with the package are downloaded and installed on
your computer. Package names usually correspond to the names of the
commands being added to Stata, so one would expect that installing the
package oaxaca will add command oaxaca to Stata on your computer, and
expect that typing help oaxaca will provide the documentation. That is
the situation here, but that is not always so. Before or after
installing a package, type ssc describe pkgname to obtain the details.
Examples
Describe most recently added or updated packages at SSC
. ssc new
Describe the most popular packages at SSC
. ssc hot
Describe the package oaxaca
. ssc describe oaxaca
Describe the package oaxaca and save the description to the file
oaxaca.log
. ssc describe oaxaca, saving(oaxaca.log)
List all packages, along with a brief description, that begin with the
letter o
. ssc describe o
Same as above, but also save the listing to the file o.index
. ssc describe o, saving(o.index)
Install package oaxaca
. ssc install oaxaca
Uninstall previously installed package oaxaca
. ssc uninstall oaxaca
Type file whitetst.hlp that is stored at SSC
. ssc type whitetst.hlp
Copy file whitetst.ado from SSC to your computer
. ssc copy whitetst.ado
