= Stata Scalars =

'''Scalars''' are a data type used for meta programming in the Stata programming language. They are more comparable to [[Stata/Macros|macros]] than any core [[Stata/DataTypes|data type]] within Stata. See  also [[Stata/Matrices|matrices]].

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== Definition ==

To define a scalar, use the `scalar define` command. The `define` keyword can be left off.

{{{
scalar define i = 1
scalar j = 2
scalar k = "Hello, world!"
}}}

Scalar variables are accessed by their name.

{{{
generate double score = i * j
}}}



=== String Scalars ===

String scalars can hold arbitrarily long strings, and can also hold binary data.

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== Usage ==

To examine a scalar variable, try:

{{{
scalar dir i
}}}

Use `scalar dir _all` (or `scalar list _all`) to list the contents of all scalar variables.

To delete a scalar variable, try:

{{{
scalar drop i
}}}

Use `scalar drop _all` to delete all scalar variables.

To obtain a random, temporary name for a scalar that cannot collide with any variables or scalars defined in a dataset, try:

{{{
tempname n1 n2

count if cohort==1
scalar `n1' = r(N)

count if cohort==2
scalar `n2' = r(N)
}}}



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