Re: st: RE: Statalist advice: a summary

["William Gould, StataCorp LP" <wgould@stata.com>]

Richard Williams <richardwilliams.ndu@gmail.com> wrote, 

> The first version of Stata was in fact called STATA. Old habits just 
> die hard for some people.

I didn't remember that, but it's true.

I just had someone open the display cabinet outside the Main
Conference Room in Building 2 and I retrieved from it the first copy
of "The Stata User's Guide", First Edition, November 1984.  The book
still looks good.

The book is jarring to open because, rather than being typeset -- or
TeXset -- the camera-ready pages were produced on a IBM Selectric
typewriter.

And there it was:  STATA.  It was all through the little 152-page book. 
Early on there's even an illustration of invoking Stata:

        A> stata

        ==S=T=A=T=A==1.0  Copyright (C) 1984 by ==C=R=C==

        . _

I learned that Stata 1.0 had 46 commands:

     1. #delimit {cr | ;}

     2. #review [# [#]]

     3. append using <filename>

     4. beep

     5. by <varlist>: <STATA_command>

     6. capture <STATA_command>

     7. confirm existence   [<string>]
                variable    [<varlist>]
                newvariable [<varlist>]

     8. convert [<varlist>] [in] [if] [=<exp>]

     9. [by:] correlate [<varlist>] [=<exp>] [in] [if]

    10. [by:] count [in] [if]

    11. describe [ {<varlist> | using <filename> ]

    12. dir <DOS_file_specification>

    13. discard

    14. display [[=<exp> | "<string>"] ...] [if]

    15. do <filename> [<parameterlist>]

    16. drop <varlist>
        [by:] drop in <range> [if <exp>]
        [by:] drop if <exp>   [in <range>]

    17. erase <DOS-file_specification>

    18. exit [if <exp>]

    19. expand =<exp> [if] [in]

    20. format <varlist> <%fmt>

    21. [by:] generate <newvar> = <exp> [if] [in]

    22. help [<command_name>]

    23. infile <newvarlist> [_skip[(<#>)]] [...] using <filename> [if] [in]

    24. input <newvarlist>

    25. label data     "<label>"
        label variable "<Label>"
        label values   <labelname>
        label define   <labelname> <#> "<label>" ...
        label drop     <labelnamelist>
        label list     <labelnamelist>
        label save     <labelnamelist> using <filename>

    26. [by:] list [<varlist>] [if] [in]

    27. macro define <macroname> "<string>"
        macro dir
        macro drop <macronamelist>
        macro list <macronamelist>

    28. merge [<varlist>] using <filename>

    29. [by:] modify [<varlist>] [in] [if]

    30. more

    31. outfile [<varlist>] using <filename> [in] [if]

    32. [by:] plot <yvar1> [<yvar2> ...] <xvar> [in] [if]

    33. query 

    34. [by:] regress <yvar> [<varlist1> [(<varlist2>)]] [=<exp>] [if] [in]

    35. rename <oldvarname> <newvarname>

    36. [by:] replace <varname> = <exp> [if] [in]
 
    37. run <filename> [<parameterlist>]

    38. save <filename>

    39. set beep     {on       | off}
            contents {data     | xp}
            display  {linesize | pagesize} <#>
            encode   "<string>"
            help     <filename>
            maxobs   <#> [lrecl <#>]
            maxvar   <#> [lrecl <#>]
            more     <#>
            obs      <#>
            output   {proc | inform | error}
            prefix   <string>
            seed     <#>
            spool    {linesize | pagesize} <#>
            type     {int | long | float | double}

    40. sort <varlist> [in]

    41. spool { using <filename> | on | off | close }

    42. [by:] summarize [<varlist>] [=<exp>] [if] [in]

    43. [by:] tabulate [<varlist>] [=<exp>] [if] [in]

    44. test <exp> = <exp>

    45. type <filename>

    46. use <filename>


I should explain that -spool- (#39 and #41) was the original word 
for -log- and that -set beep on- (#39) was one of the more useful 
commands.  -set beep- made an audible beep once a command finished, 
which woke you up.  Here are some run times:

     . summarize                    (50 obs/12 vars)   7.84 secs
     . summarize resid, detail      (50 obs)           9.93
     . regress provit exp exp2      (20 obs)          12.80
     . sort resid                   (50 obs)           2.73
     . generate newvar = ...        (50 obs)           1.94
     . tabulate rescat              (50 obs)           4.91
       
In those days, you could not turn rmsg turned off, so run times 
are throughout the manual.  You couldn't turn rmsg off because we 
were proud of them.  Stata ran like greased lightening. 

Okay, I'll stop being self-indulgent now. 

-- Bill
wgould@stata.com
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