For my packages, I get around this problem by having multiple folders on my
website, named -stata5-, -stata6-, -stata7- and -stata8-, each of which
contains the appropriate versions of my packages, under their original
names. This is done to make life a little less difficult for impoverished
Stata 6 users, who should be able to upgrade to Stata 9 (as we want them to
do) as soon as they can get the money together, without rewriting any old
do-files. Unfortunately, they do have to actively re-install the packages
after upgrading, if they want the new versions. Fortunately, thanks to Kit
Baum, the up-to-the-minute version of any of my packages is normally the
one on SSC. This is the best solution I can think of. (Maybe StataCorp will
someday think of a better one?)
Roger
At 14:09 27/04/2005, Richard Williams wrote:
Thanks to Kit Baum, a new version of the -descsave- package is now
available for download on SSC. In Stata, use the -ssc- command to do this.
Thanks Roger. Incidentally, this brings up an issue that I wish there was
a more elegant way to deal with. When Stata does an update, the old
programs just sort of disappear, e.g. version 9 users won't be using the
Stata 8 version of -mlogit-, they'll just automatically have the new
one. User-written routines don't have such a luxury, and so as a result,
you see things like old programs being re-released with new names, e.g.
prog becomes prog7 or whatever. So, you might have a bunch of different
programs called -prog- floating around, one for V. 6, another for V. 7,
etc, along with otherwise identical programs called prog6, prog7, etc. I
don't know of any convenient way around this but it would be nice if
updating user programs behaved more like updating Stata is, i.e. you get
the version of the program that is appropriate for your version of Stata
without having to re-release old programs under new names.
I'm also working on a user-written Stata 8 program, which, in a few
months, I imagine I will rewrite for Stata 9. I'm trying to write this
program so it can be easily supported by Long and Freese's -spost-
routines, but if the program has different names depending on the version
of Stata you are using then support will be harder (e.g. there might be a
-prog-, which gets renamed -prog8- and is replaced by another -prog-
written for Stata 9, which eventually gets renamed -prog9- and is replaced
by a -prog- written for Stata 10, etc.) Maybe I need to tell them to
reserve a string of names for me for future compatibility! (e.g. prog,
prog7 prog8, prog9, prog10, whatever.)
--
Roger Newson
Lecturer in Medical Statistics
Department of Public Health Sciences
Division of Asthma, Allergy and Lung Biology
King's College London
5th Floor, Capital House
42 Weston Street
London SE1 3QD
United Kingdom
Tel: 020 7848 6648 International +44 20 7848 6648
Fax: 020 7848 6620 International +44 20 7848 6620
or 020 7848 6605 International +44 20 7848 6605
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://phs.kcl.ac.uk/rogernewson/
Opinions expressed are those of the author, not the institution.
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