program define

video 04/13/2023 Includes introduction to program define

video 04/20/2023 Includes exercise in debugging & discussion of HW1

Let’s recap what we’ve covered thus far:

1. dofiles

2. macros

3. programs

If you replace the quietly { line of code in your .do file structure with program define name and the } with end you’d have written your very first program!

Can you apply this hint to the script used to assign you by last name to a TA? Write a program called tokenize that outputs a .log file that offers a user some output to achieve the purpose of the tokenize script.

qui {

    if 0 { //dofiles

        1. quietly
        2. if {
        3. code-block

    }

    if 1 { //macros

        //system-defined, constant
        creturn list
        global workdir `c(pwd)' //`c(pwd)' -> `filepath` if file isn't in `pwd`

        //program-defined, estimates & return
        use ${workdir}/transplants, clear //vincent's idea for your hw1
        stset end_date,failure(died) origin(transplant_date)
        stcox age gender i.race prev_ki
        ereturn list

        lincom _b[prev_ki]
        return list
        di exp(r(estimate))

        //user-defined 
        stcox prev_ki
        lincom _b[prev_ki]
        return list 
        di r(p)

        qui tab died prev_ki, chi
        return list
        local pvalue: di %4.3f r(p)

    }

    if 2 { //programs?

    }

}

Now you have successfully written your first program. Its now a Stata command; however, its role is highly specific.

How may we generalize its function and tailor it to user-defined needs? Perhaps by deploying user-defined macros?