Nick,
OK, cool. Thanks for the swift explanation on this to a non-programmer.
C.
> No. That is how the Stata language is,
> and there is at least one very good reason for it.
>
> Stata allows references to nested macros, and
> they are extremely useful. If you look at most
> substantial programs, you will see stuff like
> ``i'' and `a`i''. (Wrapping your head around
> this is a crucial step in learning Stata programming,
> but worth the effort.)
>
> Given that fact, there would be a problem
> if there no distinction between the start
> of a local macro reference and the end of
> one, as expressions like
>
> 'a'i'j'
>
> would be ambiguous: is this
>
> 1. the local macro 'a'
> followed by the character "i"
> followed by the local macro 'j'
>
> or
>
> 2. the local macro 'i'
> nested within another local
> macro whose name starts
> with "a" and whose name
> ends with "j"
>
> ?
>
> The interpretation could be very
> different. `a'i`j' and `a`i'j'
> remove the ambiguity.
>
> In addition, the stylistic affront
> is dependent on what font you use.
> I happen to be writing this font
> in a font in which the left quote
> slopes and the right font is vertical
> -- and, dependent on your set-up,
> you reading this may see something
> similar -- and I agree that is ugly.
> The remedy is to change the font,
> and in particular Stata's own fonts
> preserve the leftness of left quotes
> and the rightness of right quotes,
> so all gaucheness or sinister behaviour
> is matched by its mirror image.
>
> Nick
> [email protected]
>
> Clive Nicholas
>
>> Could you use (') instead of (`)? It looks nicer stylistically.
>
>> Nick Cox wrote:
>>
>> [...]
>>
>> > `= that is left quote followed by =
>> >
>> > means "evaluate what follows between here and the matching right
>> > quote".
>
> *
> * 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/
>
Yours,
CLIVE NICHOLAS,
Politics Building,
School of Geography, Politics and Sociology,
University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
NE1 7RU,
United Kingdom.
*
* 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/
