Re: [Gretl-users] Automating regressions on various variables
Am 28.12.2014 um 21:34 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
On Sun, 28 Dec 2014, Sven Schreiber wrote:
Internally, all of gretl's basic estimation commands accept a single
list argument for the regression specification. For the user doc we
split this into "dependent variable" plus "independent variables"
but supplying a single named list is OK.
Ok let's see if I can remember this until I need it...
> According to what I've learned about the 'loop foreach' construction, I
> would have done the following instead, which feels more natural to me:
>
> ols $i 0 $j
That will work, though it uses string substitution, which is
basically evil. (Note to self: I need to write an explanation of why
I really don't like string substitution and would like to get rid of
it if at all possible).
This is a surprising statement -- in principle I absolutely agree and I
think I have expressed my mixed feelings about gretl's string handling
on various occasions over the years. I have stopped complaining in order
not to appear too annoying, and also have slowly grown used to it.
However, maybe you and Jack should have a private discussion about this,
because the user manual is full of such examples involving string
substitution, and then there's the quote "It’s amazing what string
substitution can do for you, isn’t it?" (from section 16.3 in the manual).
-sven