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How can I replace an observation of a variable with a different observation for another variable?

Here is a common mistake that is made when attempting to replace an observation of a variable with a different observation from another variable:

 . list +--------------+ | price mpg | |--------------| 1. | 4,099 22 | 2. | 4,749 17 | 3. | 3,799 22 | 4. | 4,816 20 | 5. | 7,827 15 | |--------------| 6. | 5,788 18 | 7. | 4,453 26 | 8. | 5,189 20 | 9. | 10,372 16 | 10. | 4,082 19 | +--------------+ . replace mpg[4] = price[7] weights not allowed r(101);

 . replace mpg= price[7] in 4 (1 real change made) . list +---------------+ | price mpg | |---------------| 1. | 4,099 22 | 2. | 4,749 17 | 3. | 3,799 22 | 4. | 4,816 4453 | 5. | 7,827 15 | |---------------| 6. | 5,788 18 | 7. | 4,453 26 | 8. | 5,189 20 | 9. | 10,372 16 | 10. | 4,082 19 | +---------------+

In programming, you might use macros in place of known values. Observe how the following do-file performs the same task as the above example:

------------------------------------------------------example.do local x = 7 local i = 4 replace mpg = price[`x'] in `i' ------------------------------------------------------example.do . list +--------------+ | price mpg | |--------------| 1. | 4,099 22 | 2. | 4,749 17 | 3. | 3,799 22 | 4. | 4,816 20 | 5. | 7,827 15 | |--------------| 6. | 5,788 18 | 7. | 4,453 26 | 8. | 5,189 20 | 9. | 10,372 16 | 10. | 4,082 19 | +--------------+ . do example.do . local x = 7 . local i = 4 . replace mpg = price[`x'] in `i' (1 real change made) . end of do-file . list +---------------+ | price mpg | |---------------| 1. | 4,099 22 | 2. | 4,749 17 | 3. | 3,799 22 | 4. | 4,816 4453 | 5. | 7,827 15 | |---------------| 6. | 5,788 18 | 7. | 4,453 26 | 8. | 5,189 20 | 9. | 10,372 16 | 10. | 4,082 19 | +---------------+

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