I've noticed a certain restriction in -describe-, which presented a bit of
a problem. I think I found a solution, but I just thought I'd ask for
opinions from the rest of you.
If I do
des var using file1
and var is an abbreviation (not the full name) for a variable in file1,
then the command fails. (var does not end with an asterisk.)
But if I -use- file1 and then,
des var
it works fine.
Is there a way to check that a variable exists in a file that is not
currently loaded, where the name might possibly be abbreviated? -- without
loading that file?
My solution is to append an asterisk on var:
des var* using file1
Thus it succeeds if var is a legitimate abbreviation for at least one
variable in file1, which may be a bit imprecise, but good enough for what
I'm doing.
Any other suggestions? And has anyone else find this limitation of
-describe- to be a problem?
--David
David Kantor
Institute for Policy Studies
Johns Hopkins University [email protected]
410-516-5404
