Re: st: RE: A modest proposal - missing data doesn't count

[Phil Schumm <pschumm@uchicago.edu>]

On Jun 14, 2010, at 2:49 PM, Nick Cox wrote:
> -inrange()- is a well-defined function available for comparisons.
On Jun 14, 2010, at 2:54 PM, Martin Weiss wrote:
> I got used to the -!mi()- thing in "bigger-than" comparisons after a  
> couple of errors in this area, and I do not even regard it as a  
> hassle anymore.  What is all the fuss about?

Personally, I use both of these, depending on the context.  If, say, I  
want to generate an indicator variable for when y takes (non-missing)  
values larger than 10, then I typically use
    gen byte x = (10 < y) if !mi(y)

which makes it clear that I am defining a variable which is missing if  
y is missing.  Alternatively, if I want to map the non-missing values  
of y into some other variable, I use
    recode y min/10=1 11/50=2 51/max=3, gen(x)

or, if I just want to refer to a specific range of values,

    if inrange(y,51,maxdouble())


-- Phil

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