Assuming it could be implemented by Stata Corp. in a reasonable way, I
would definitely want, and use, a feature which permitted me to ban
abbreviated variable names. I completely endorse Glen Waddell's concerns
about the way abbreviated names can introduce difficult-to-track-down
errors. In past postings to this list, I have also proposed that the use
of uninitialized macro names as null strings be banished (or, at least
optionally banished with a setting). The two practices are conceptually
related, and probably should be combined as a single setting that does
both. It is hard to imagine a programmer who would want one but not the
other.
Clyde Schechter
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Bronx, New York, USA
*
* For searches and help try:
* http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/res/findit.html
* http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
* http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/
