The modifier allows us to specify any criteria or set of conditions. They can change the number of observations that the command is executed for. These are referred to as the command modifier or command qualifier respectively. īack to the syntax for the summarizecommand, we also notice two arguments of and.
This help page shows a different list of options that are applicable with the regresscommand.
The default is five.Īn option for one command cannot necessarily be used with other commands. This option draws a line after every four variables in the summary table. For example the separator()option allows us to specify the number of variables after which the summary table would draw a line. This option shows more detailed, additional summary statistics for the variables specified. Just like commands, the underlined part of an option indicates its abbreviated version that is also valid. Right below the syntax in the help window is a section that lists all the options (along with their purpose) that can be used with that specific command. Options are frequently used with Stata commands since they enhance the usefulness of the command. Anything that we write after a comma is referred to as an option in Stata. Getting back to syntax for the summarizecommand, we notice the syntax includes an argument called. This also differs from in that it only allows one variable name, not a list. Similarly, an option within this command is (varname). Only one variable name can be specified in one command. It is not written in square brackets because we must specify a new variable name following the command name. We notice a compulsory argument called newvar. If we read the syntax for the generatecommand: help generate There are other commands that restrict the number of variables to only one. allows us to add any number of variables. suggests that we can follow the summarizecommand with a custom list of variables of our choice and Stata will return a summary table for only those variables. These arguments however can enhance the usability of our commands. These square brackets indicate that the argument is optional and the command can still run if they are not specified. This summarizes all the variables in the dataset.īack to the syntax, the command name is followed by certain arguments in square brackets. To see how the command works on its own, we load an inbuilt dataset: sysuse auto.dta summarize In addition, typing anything between suand summarizewill return us the correct results so commands like summa, summ, summaretc will also work. The underline part of the command indicates that the command can be abbreviated to suas well. The syntax always starts with the name of the command, in this case summarize. Let’s break down the syntax for this command. Understanding Stata Command SyntaxĬontinuing from the example of the previous command that opens up a help window for the summarize, we note that there is a separate section with the heading “Syntax”. In this case, a help window with the syntax details and other descriptions regarding the summarizecommand opens. To access the help window, we enter the command: help summarize Stata has a remarkably comprehensive documentation and guide that users can refer to anytime they need help with a command. Stata command syntax refers to the rules that need to be followed when we want to interact with a software, just like we follow grammar rules when speaking in a language. As is the case with every statistical software, Stata has a specific syntax that needs to be conformed to when writing commands.
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