st: RE: RE: literal single quotes

["Feiveson, Alan H. (JSC-SK311)" <alan.h.feiveson@nasa.gov>]

Thanks, Roger, Nick

Both suggestions work, but something like

. local bull =  "count if char(96)tempchar(39) >0"
. `bull'

unknown function ()
r(133);


does not work.




. local lq = char(96)

. local rq = char(39)

. local bull =  "count if `lq'temp`rq'  >0"

. `bull'
  334

(works)


. local bull   "count if  \`temp\'  >0"

. `bull'
  334

(works)


Nick - I see a legitimate need for this when you have a long expression involving temporary variables or names that may make the code look ugly if written out next to some other long statement.

Al




-----Original Message-----
From: owner-statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu [mailto:owner-statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu] On Behalf Of Nick Cox
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 11:37 AM
To: statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu
Subject: st: RE: literal single quotes

This sounds like the urge for setting up a delayed evaluation, on which
my advice is 

1. Use \` to insert a literal left quote if the urge is overwhelming. 

2. Better, resist the urge. Rewrite your code so that you don't need to
do it.  

This came up a few months ago, but I can't find my post. Martin Weiss
will probably remember it. 

Nick 
n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk 

Feiveson, Alan H. (JSC-SK311)

Can someone please tell me how to define a local macro  that contains
literal single quotes? For example Suppose I want to do something like

local bull "count if `temp' > 0"

where `temp' is to be interpreted literally, not evaluated.

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