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RE: st: append to an empty dataset


From   "Nick Cox" <[email protected]>
To   <[email protected]>
Subject   RE: st: append to an empty dataset
Date   Tue, 4 Nov 2008 19:18:48 -0000

A test of whether there are no variables in memory is 

if c(k) == 0 { 
	<stuff> 
} 

That way, you need not try to run a command and -capture- any failure.  

Nick 
[email protected] 

Austin Nichols

e.g. just save the following to appemptyok.ado in your sysdir path:

prog appemptyok
 syntax using [, *]
 cap append `using', `options'
 if _rc==3 {
  tempvar x
  g `x'=.
  append `using', `options'
  }
 else if _rc!=0 error _rc
end


On Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 12:41 PM, Sergiy Radyakin
<[email protected]> wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 9:05 AM, Johannes Geyer <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I had/have that problem too and most often I have to create a cycle
and an
>> exception (the first data set). Reading throught your posts I thought
why
>> not add that option -gen tempvar- to append when using it?
>>
>> Wouldn't that suffice?:
>
> Yes, and the program can be further improved to check if there are
> variables already present, and generate tempvar only for the empty
> dataset (because currently it will generate tempvar 100 times for 100
> datasets, and only 1 is required). It can also brunch inside to use or
> append depending on whether there is anything in memory. In any case
> this special treatment of the first dataset is a very unnecessary
> effort, which could have been easily avoided.
>
>
>>
>> **************
>> program append_empty
>> syntax using [, *]
>>
>> tempvar qwerty
>> gen `qwerty' = 1
>>
>> append `using', `options'
>> end
>> **************
>>
>> **************
>> clear
>> append_empty somedataset
>> **************

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