Known Bugs in RATS

Software bugs are a fact of life, although we make great efforts to minimize them. By making a list of known bugs available, we hope to limit the inconvenience these problems may cause. Please contact us if you have any questions.

This page lists the significant known bugs that appeared in various Version 6 and Version 7 releases. Unresolved issues are listed first, followed by bugs that have been fixed in incremental updates. WinRATS users can download minor updates for certain versions at no charge from our website, in the form of "patch" files that update your existing application files. See the Software Updates page for details. See the RATS Updates page for details on ordering updates on CD.

For a bug-fix history for earlier versions, see the Version 5 Known Bugs and Version 4 Known Bugs pages.

Open Issues

• ENVIRONMENT GSAVE=template
  

  May not work properly inside a procedure.

• ROW=FIND option on REPORT
  

  The ROW=FIND option on REPORT does not work properly. To work around this, you may be able to use DO loops and IF statements to check conditions and then generate a REPORT entry at a specific row as needed.

Bugs Fixed in 7.2

Version 7.2 includes fixes for the following issues:

• .NOT. Operator Precedence
  

  The .NOT. operator had a higher precedence (one level above the == operator) than is indicated in Appendix A of the Reference Manual. Fixed in 7.2.

• SCATTER with VSHADE or HSHADE
  The VSHADE and HSHADE options produced a black box rather than a shaded box. Fixed in 7.2

• Scrolling and key
  

  Scrolling down with the scrollbar "thumb" and then hitting PgUp would crash RATS. True in 7.0, possibly earlier.

Bugs Fixed in 7.1

Version 7.1 includes fixes for a couple of issues present in 7.0

• DAMP option issue
  

  The DAMP option on regression instructions was ignored unless you explicitly used the option LWINDOW=DAMPED (along with ROBUST and LAGS) to specify a damped lag window. This was fixed in 7.1 so that you could use the DAMP option without having to also specify LWINDOW=DAMPED.

• COLUMN option on IMPULSE
  

  The COLUMN option on IMPULSE did not work correctly. RATS would produce separate sets of response for shocks to all equations, not just the specified column. Fixed in Version 7.1.

• ESTIMATE with the MODEL option
  

  ESTIMATE could crash if you used the MODEL option to estimate a model that was created using the GROUP instruction (rather than by a SYSTEM instruction). Fixed in Version 7.1.

• FORECAST with ERRORS option
  

  FORECAST could cause RATS to crash if you used the ERRORS and STATIC option but did not also use the RESULTS option to save the forecasts. Fixed in 7.1.

• Interface crash
  

  Fixed an issue that could cause RATS to crash after scrolling through text using the vertical scrollbar "thumb" and then hitting the "PgUp" key.

• %BETASYS Variable
  

  The %BETASYS variable, intended to contain the coefficients of the VAR model stacked into a VECTOR, was not properly set by ESTIMATE. Fixed in Version 7.1.

• Bar graph using "hatch" pattern
  

  Bar graphs that included one of the "hatch" patterns would not export to EPS (encapsulated PostScript) format files properly. Fixed in Version 7.1.

Bugs Fixed in 6.35

• Reading Data Using ODBC
  

  Improved handling of ODBC/SQL data handling. Eliminated a problem with reading the last observation in some data sets. ODBC sessions now closed automatically after reading, so multiple DATA commands don't produce multiple open ODBC sessions. Note: ODBC support is only available in the Professional version of RATS.

• %() Function
  

  In some cases, Version 6.3 would fail to properly parse the %() function. Fixed in 6.35.

• %LOGCDF() Function
  

  The %LOGCDF() function was never fully implemented in 6.2 and 6.3. Fixed in 6.35.

• NLSYSTEM, SIGMA option
  

  The SIGMA option did not work in conjunction with the FRMLVECTOR option. Fixed in 6.35.

• User-defined Functions
  

  In a user-defined FUNCTION, calling a matrix function more than once in an expression could produce incorrect results. Fixed in 6.35.

Bugs Fixed in 6.3

• %MQFORM with (RECTANGULAR,SYMMETRIC) input
  

  The %MQFORM function produces nonsensical results if the A matrix is RECTANGULAR and the B matrix is SYMMETRIC. Other combinations work properly. Fixed in 6.30.

• COPY instruction with UNIT=OUTPUT
  

  Redirecting COPY output to the Output window could cause a crash with some formats. Fixed in 6.30.

• Using the SHEET option with DATA(FORMAT=XLS)
  

  For some Excel files, the SHEET option does not work, in which case only the first sheet in the file can be read (by omitting the SHEET option). Fixed in 6.30.

• CVMODEL with both A and B parameters
  

  CVMODEL did not accept arguments for both the "A formula" and "B formula" parameters at the same time (worked fine if you only used one or the other). Fixed in 6.30.

• HISTORY with identities and no MODEL
  

  Fixed an issue with using HISTORY and identity equations when using supplementary cards to list equations rather than the MODEL option. Fixed in 6.30.

• SUR, Degrees of Freedom
  

  Made a change to SUR to correctly report the degrees of freedom for each equation. Fixed in 6.30.

• COPY with FORMAT=CDF
  

  An extra comma was being included after an NA for series that started with a missing value in the first entry. Fixed in 6.30.

• PFORM and series with missing values
  

  Made a change to PFORM so that it would accept series that contained only missing values. The corresponding entries in the stacked panel series are simply left as NA's (missing values), rather than returning an error message. Fixed in 6.30.

• %NDFQ not defined when using NOPRINT
  

  Regressions were not defining %NDFQ if the NOPRINT option was used. Fixed in 6.30.

• %FRACTILES and %WFRACTILES and missing values
  

  %FRACTILES and %WFRACTILES did not return correct results if the input array included missing values. Fixed in 6.30.

• REPORT instruction and decimal alignments
  

  Fixed an issue with printing reports generated with REPORT using decimal alignments. Fixed in 6.30.

Bugs Fixed in 6.20

• SUR: Two issues
  

  The SMPL option on the SUR command is not working properly. It can produce crashes, or spurious "## REG13. Singular Regressions" errors.

  Also, the RESIDS and COEFFS options that were added to SUR in Version 6.02 have not actually been functional.

• PANEL
  

  Change to better compute means with ill-conditioned data.

• PREG
  

  Fix input check of VINDIV and VTIME to allow >=0, not just >0.

• DDV
  

  Added check for perfect fit, to avoid possible crash resulting from a division by zero.

• %CXPOLYROOTS
  

  Corrected Cauchy bound—previously this could fail to find roots in some cases

• NLSYSTEM
  

  Fix bug that affects NOZUDEP option

• DATA
  

  Fixed a problem with the VERBOSE option when used with RATS files with a comment containing a %% character.

• DATA(FOR=XLS)
  

  Fix a problem reading OLE workbooks from Excel 2000 or later. Most files would work properly, but some files would cause RATS to crash or fail to read in all data.

• SSTATS
  

  Fix problem with initializing MAX or MIN. Failed if max or min was 1.0

• GARCH
  

  Fix to handling of internal pointers for asymmetry components in multivariate models .

• %LOGDENSITY
  

  Fix so that it returns NA if variance<=0 for univariate cases.

• %LOGCONCDENSITY
  

  Fix so that it returns NA if variance<=0 for univariate cases.

Bugs Fixed in 6.10

• Problem with PMETHOD=GENETIC on MAXIMIZE
  

  When using the option PMETHOD=GENETIC in a MAXIMIZE estimation, the primary estimation method would sometimes start from the initial parameter values, rather than picking up the values returned by the genetic method preliminary iterations as it should (i.e. the initial iterations may effectively be ignored). Fixed in 6.10.

• HISTORY with Identity Equations
  

  HISTORY did not work properly (could cause a program crash) when applied to a system that included identity equations. Fixed in 6.10.

• CROSS Instruction, NOCENTER Switch
  

  The NOCENTER option on CROSS had no effect, so the series was always mean-centered even if you specified NOCENTER. Fixed in 6.10.

• %STVAL() Function
  

  The function did not work properly, produced "junk" as a result, and could cause a crash. Fixed in 6.10.

• %CLOCK() Function
  

  Did not work properly when given a negative-valued argument (returned a negative value). Fixed in 6.10.

• %POLYCXROOTS Function
  

  Could cause a memory overwrite, leading to a crash. Could also fail to find all roots in high degree polynomials. Fixed in 6.10

Bugs Fixed in 6.02b

Version 6.02b is a minor revision made to WinRATS, WinRATS Pro, and UNIX RATS to fix a couple of issues discovered since the release of 6.02. For WinRATS users, a free downloadable patch update is available to update to 6.02b. UNIX users can contact Estima to receive an update via email. Note: MacRATS 6.02 was released later and includes these fixes:

• Internal Matrix Issue (OVERLAY, %XX, %CMOM, CREATE/CMOM options)
  A change in internal bookkeeping for internal arrays made in 6.02 could result in incorrect results in situations where an OVERLAY command is used, or where a program modifies the reserved %XX or %CMOM matrix, followed by an estimation instruction using the CREATE or CMOM options, respectively. Fixed in 6.02b.
• Graph Wizard Dialog Box
  As a result of changes made while finalizing the MacRATS code, the "header labels" section of the Graph Wizard dialog box may display incorrectly in WinRATS 6.02. Fixed in 6.02b.
• ORDER with the INDEX Option
  Using ORDER with INDEX could occasionally produce a delayed crash due to a memory allocation problem. Fixed in 6.02b.
• ENVIRONMENT GSAVE with GFORMAT=WMF
  A problem in computing a size parameter when automatically saving graphs in WMF format could result in an M7 Floating Point Overflow error.
• Other Minor Fixes
  Minor tweaks to the Function Wizard for %XT(), the handling missing values in a REPORT table, and DOFOR loops over lists of strings

Bugs Fixed in 6.02

• Crashes While Editing
  We found a couple of additional problems related to editing text after Version 6.01 was released. These bugs could cause RATS to crash in certain circumstances, particularly when selecting and deleting text. Version 6.02 includes fixes for these problems. We recommend that all RATS 6.0/6.01 users update to 6.02 (see the Software Updates page to download a patch, or order an update on CD). Fixed in 6.02.
• DLM issues with EXACT Option
  When using the SMOOTH and EXACT options, DLM did not always produce correct results in all cases. Also, the reported likelihood value was not correct when using EXACT with SCALE when you had more than 1 observable. Fixed in 6.02.
• Multi-Year CALENDAR (YEARSPERENTRY Option)
  The YEARSPERENTRY option did not operate properly. Fixed in 6.02.
• %PT() Function
  The function %PT(l,t,v) would accept a VECTOR, but not a Nx1 or 1xN RECTANGULAR array. Fixed in 6.02.
• EIGEN Instruction Issue
  On some platforms, the EIGEN command could produce incorrect results in cases where there several zero-valued eigen values. Fixed in 6.02.
• %CORR Function (UNIX Only)
  On some UNIX/Linux platforms, the %CORR function produce the wrong result. Fixed in 6.02.
• QSTATS Option on CROSS
  When doing CROSS with the QSTATS option, if you tried to use zeros for both the "first" and "last" parameters, RATS would go into an infinite loop, repeatedly producing the resulting calculation and output. Fixed in 6.02.
• COPY Instruction with FORTRAN Format
  If you use a FORTRAN format with more than 32767 data points, rats would wrap the output across two (or more) lines. Fixed in 6.02.
• DENSITY Instruction, No Grid or Density Parameter
  If you omitted the "grid" or "density" parameter, the DENSITY instruction could cause a crash. Fixed in 6.02.
• FIND Instruction Did Not Define %XX, %BETA
  The %XX and %BETA variables were not being set by a FIND estimation. Fixed in 6.02.
• FIND Instruction, PMETHOD Option
  The PMETHOD and PITERS options were not available on FIND. Fixed in 6.02.
• Key Labels on Graphs (UNIX Only)
  On some UNIX/Linux platforms, the position of key labels was not always correct, particularly when using KEY=UPRIGHT or LORIGHT. Fixed in 6.02.
• KALMAN Instruction, Program Crash
  Due to a problem with the way information was saved into the %XX matrix, use of the KALMAN instruction could cause the program to crash. Fixed in 6.02.
• Problem Writing Excel Files
  In rare instances, an XLS file created by RATS could not be opened in Excel. Fixed in 6.02.

Bugs Fixed in 6.01

• Crashes While Editing
  Some issues related to the "Undo" features added to the editor could cause the program to crash while doing simple text editing, particularly when deleting selected text or typing in overtype mode. Because this issue is likely to affect a fairly large number of users, we recommend that everyone using RATS 6.0 download the 6.01 update (see the Software Updates page). Fixed in 6.01.
• ROBUSTERRORS with NLSYSTEM
  The ROBUSTERRORS option on NLSYSTEM did not work properly—the standard errors were incorrect. Fixed in 6.01.
• Problem Reading Excel Files
  In some situations, RATS would fail to read data from an Excel format data file, incorrectly reporting that the file was "not a valid Excel format". Fixed in 6.01.
• DLM With EXACT Option
  The DLM Instruction could produce incorrect results when the EXACT option is used. Fixed in 6.01.
• Hodrick-Prescott Filter with Missing Values
  The FILTER(TYPE=HP) command (which implements the Hodrick-Prescott filter) would not operate correctly if there were any missing values in the source series—RATS would return an "M7: Untrapped Floating Point" error. Fixed in 6.01.
• File-Preferences: Default Directory Browse Button
  In the File-Preferences dialog box, the "Browse" button would not actually set the default directory—this would only work if you typed in the directory path explicitly. Fixed in 6.01.
• Reading Haver Databases in Pro Version
  A conflict with FAME support caused problems reading data from Haver format databases in the Professional version of WinRATS. Fixed in 6.01.
• IMPULSE with WINDOW Option
  Output to a window did not include labeling of each block of output (i.e. "Responses to a shock to ..."). Fixed in 6.01.
• Problem with RATS Data file Series Editor (RATS and RATSDATA)
  Using the Series Editing Window (in RATSDATA or in RATS) to add data to an existing series on a RATS format file could cause the program to crash. Fixed in 6.01.

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This file was last modified on 12/15/09