Carl Nelson <[email protected]> notes
> The mata manual explains
>
> : st_view(X, ., ("mpg", "displ", "weight"))
> : X[2,1] = 123
>
> will cause the second observation of mpg in stata to change.
and Carl then tries to apply that,
> : st_view(a, ., ("over04", "over05", ...))
> : t = (0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\70\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0)
> : a = a :+ t
but,
> After I run this the matrix a in mata is correct, but the variables
> in the stata data set haven't been changed.
Solution: change
: a = a :+ t
to read
: a[.,.] = a :+ t
By the way, easier tyan typing
: t = (0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\70\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0)
is
: t = J(rows(a), 1, 0)
Explanation
-----------
You need to type
a[.,.] = a :+ t
rather than
a = a :+ t
because you want Mata to replace the elements of existing matrix a,
not redefine a. That's a subtle difference, but important. When you
type
a = a :+ t
Mata calculates -a :+ t-, throws away the current a, and redefines a to
be the calculated result. It's important that Mata works that way.
Pretend you code,
a = (1, 2 \ 3, 4)
...
a = (1, 2, 3 \ 4, 5, 6)
That is, early on, you define a to be 2x2, and later, you redefine it to
be 3x3. If Mata simply tried to reassign the elements of the current a,
the second statement would be an error, because a 3x3 will not fit into a
2x2.
The little example I just gave is no different conceptually than what
Carl coded,
st_view(a, ., ("over04", "over05", ...))
...
a = a :+ t
The first line provided one definition of a, and the third, another, new
definition.
What Carl wanted to do, however, was maintain the current definition of
a and replace its (already existing) elements. Just as you replace the
2, 1 element of X by coding
X[2,1] = 123
you replace all the elements of a by coding
a[.,.] = ...
-- Bill
[email protected]
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