[Gretl-devel] messed-up panel subsampling (including a crash, it seems)

Hi, unfortunately the panel subsampling business doesn't seem to be fully resolved. I'm struggling to understand where exactly the apparent bug is located or if there are perhaps more than one, so let's go step by step. 1) First, consider the attached panel-structured dataset "checkdata.gdt", and then the following small script: <hansl> function void samplecheck(series x)     smpl     # simply prints the currently active sample end function # assuming checkdata.gdt is loaded... setobs 4 1991:1 --panel-time smpl 1991:1 2017:4 --time # restricts from 1708 to 1512 obs samplecheck(UKIB) </hansl> The point here is that the samplecheck function should only get the restricted active sample from the outer scope (right?) -so only 1512 obs- , but inside the function it still reports 1708 as being the relevant "full" sample range. Is that expected? I suspect that that's where the trouble is perhaps already beginning. 2) OK, next it gets more "interesting" in terms of the printed sample information. Again with the attached dataset, consider the following script, where in the end things are totally messed up: <hansl> # assuming checkdata.gdt is loaded... smpl full setobs 4 1991:1 --panel-time smpl 1991:1 2017:4 --time # n = 1512 function void check2 (series x)     series dates = $obsdate     smpl 5 5 --unit     smpl dates < 20010101 --restrict     smpl end function check2(UKIB) # prints: 15:001 - 1:122 (n = -1708) !! </hansl> Note that the dataset really only has 14 units, not 15. And perhaps I should be explicit that it's not just a cosmetic issue of what's printed out, but it is affecting the actual data and number crunching down the road. 2b) I replaced the home-cooked time restriction "smpl dates < 20010101 --restrict" with "smpl 1991:1 2001:1 --time" inside the function, but then gretl crashed hard. ------ 3) Maybe unrelated, maybe not, but at least even easier to replicate: <hansl> open abdata setobs 4 2000:1 --panel-time # just for illustration smpl 2000:3 2000:4 --time    # gives 1:1 - 140:2 (n = 280) </hansl> Notice that the time dimension is shown as 1..2, whereas it's really the (pseudo) period numbers 3..4 that are selected. This is in contrast to the cross-section dimension using "--unit", where the respective unit numbers are preserved and shown alright. (Check with "smpl 10 11 --unit".) A slightly different example (again with the attached dataset checkdata.gdt loaded): <hansl> smpl full setobs 4 1991:1 --panel-time smpl         # gives 1:001 - 14:122 (n = 1708) smpl 1991:1 2017:4 --time     # see below </hansl> Here the full sample is reported as a panel structure before the "--time" restriction (1:001 - 14:122 (n = 1708)), but the last command which restricts the panel in the time dimension yields the following output, where suddenly the first line only shows the total obs number, not the panel structure anymore: <output> Voller Datensatz: 1708 Beobachtungen Aktuelle Stichprobe: 1:001 - 14:108 (n = 1512) </output> All this is with the recent snapshot from Feb 26th. thanks sven