Re: st: Why do `test' and a`test' make a difference?

[Dirk Enzmann <dirk.enzmann@uni-hamburg.de>]

Thank you Nick, very helpful!

And thanks to Statalist as an institution to turn to when searches such 
as -hsearch backslash-, -hsearch pathname-, -hsearch filename-, -search 
escape- or the subject index of the manual(s) do not help. I suspected 
an issue with escape characters, but didn't know where to look for help 
besides asking Statalist.

With your help I could locate section 18.3.11 in [U] which explicitly 
warns Windows users about not using backslashes in pathnames. However, I 
still couldn't locate an explanation of the use of the backslash \ as an 
escape character in the manuals.


To summarize: Whereas the use of a backslash results in

------------------------------------
. global path = "d:\my folder\"
. local test = "pre_"
.
. di "${path}`test'my name.dta"
d:\my folder`test'my name.dta
.
. di "${path}a`test'my name.dta"
d:\my folder\apre_my name.dta
------------------------------------

the clean way of using forward slashes, instead, results in

------------------------------------
. global path = "d:/my folder/"
. local test = "pre_"
.
. di "${path}`test'my name.dta"
d:/my folder/pre_my name.dta
.
. di "${path}a`test'my name.dta"
d:/my folder/apre_my name.dta
------------------------------------

Dirk

> In Stata backslashes have two roles
>
> 1. General: As an escape character.
>
> 2. Specific, for Windows users so inclined: As a separator within > 
pathnames.
>
> and single left quotation marks ` also have two roles
>
> 1. As introducing local macro references.
>
> 2. As literal characters, an interpretation you insist on with \`
>
> So
>
> \`test'
>
> is taken as a sign that for some reason for your own you are
> protecting the ` of `test', which is why you put the \ in there.
>
> So, don't do that. Use forward slashes for pathname separators, even
> in Windows. This advice is spelled out in [U] and again in
>
> SJ-8-3  pr0042  . . . . . . .  Stata tip 65: Beware the backstabbing 
> backslash
>         . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
> N. J. Cox
>         Q3/08   SJ 8(3):446--447                                 (no 
> commands)
>         tip to use forward slash instead of backslash for
>         directory and file names
>
> Nick
>
> On Sun, Feb 10, 2013 at 1:18 PM, Dirk Enzmann
> > Why does the backslash as part of the global macro $path vanish (and
> > `test' is not evaluated as a local macro) when immediately combined with
> > the local macro `test', although it does not vanish (and the content of
> > `test' is displayed) when not immediately combined as shown in the two
> > variants of -di- in the example below?
> >
> > * --- Stata example start: -----------
> >
> > global path = "d:\my folder\"
> > local test = "pre_"
> > di "${path}`test'my name.dta"
> > di "${path}a`test'my name.dta"
> >
> > * --- End Stata example. ------------
> >
> > Dirk

========================================
Dr. Dirk Enzmann
Institute of Criminal Sciences
Dept. of Criminology
Rothenbaumchaussee 33
D-20148 Hamburg
Germany

phone: +49-(0)40-42838.7498 (office)
       +49-(0)40-42838.4591 (Mrs Billon)
fax:   +49-(0)40-42838.2344
email: dirk.enzmann@uni-hamburg.de
http://www2.jura.uni-hamburg.de/instkrim/kriminologie/Mitarbeiter/Enzmann/Enzmann.html
========================================
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