I understand why Stata might use this algorithm, but if I had
designed it, I would not have done it that way... "looking forward
for a period" fails miserably on any of my files with names like
directors.tenure.proxy.sep2005.dta, which are perfectly legal under
*nix variants. Searching BACKWARD from the end of the filename would
be a much better way to determine whether there is a file extension.
(That does not preclude Stata making a mistake with a file
lacking .dta, but then it is the user's problem, not Stata's).
Kit Baum, Boston College Economics
http://ideas.repec.org/e/pba1.html
On Oct 11, 2005, at 2:33 AM, Allenwrote:
Stata determines whether or not a file has an extension in the same
way across all operating systems. It starts at the beginning of
the filename and looks forward for a period. If one is found,
then Stata determines the file has an extension and will not add
one.
*
* 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/
