Version 8 Manual Errata
Below is a listing of errors found in the RATS Version 8 manuals. You can also find a listing of manual errata in the Additional Topics PDF included with RATS.
See Version 7 Errata, Version 6 Errata, or Version 5 Errata for corrections to errors in the Version 7, 6 and 5 manuals, respectively.
Reference Manual
- CROSS Instruction, page 64:
The example in the description of the RESULTS option should refer to the FROM and TO options, not "first" and "last".
- DATA Instruction, page 78:
In the list of formats supported for the FORMAT option, the text should read DTA rather than DATA. DTA is the format for Stata(r) files. Corrected in the PDF version of the manual that shipped with version 8.0.
- ESTIMATE Instruction, page 161:
The Variables Defined list should have %XX, rather than %X, as the variable containing the inv(X'X) matrix. Corrected in the PDF version of the manual that shipped with version 8.0.
- PANEL Instruction, page 353:
The ICOUNT and TCOUNT options are not documented properly. ICOUNT returns the number of valid observations in the current individual (that is, for y(it) the count of valid observations across all t for individual i). TCOUNT returns the number of valid observations for the current time period (that is, for y(it) the count of valid observations across all i at time period t). Note that this is in keeping with the defintions of the ISUM and TSUM operations--that is, both ISUM and ICOUNT operate across individuals, while TSUM and TCOUNT operate across time periods). Fixed after the release of 8.1.
- STWISE Instruction, page 456:
Lists the "general to specific" option as being a switch option:
GTOS/[NOGTOS]
This is incorrect--GTOS is actually one of choices available for the METHOD option, not a stand-alone option, so GTOS is selected using the option:
METHOD=GTOS
- X11 Instruction, page 513:
The seasaonal factors produced by the FACTORS option are not forecasted out three years beyond the adjustment period. That was true in versions 7.1 and older, but is not part of the new X12-ARIMA methodology introduced with version 7.2. Instead, use the EXTENSION option with a forecasted input series to produce forecasted seasonal factors.
- Functions
The following functions were available in 8.0, but were not listed in Section 2 of the Reference Manual. See the Function Wizard or Help in RATS, or the revised PDF version of the Reference Manual for details on these:
- %CHOICE, which enables specifying a “choice” option argument by supplying the choice as a text label. (Added in the 8.1 PDF)
- %EQNRESID and %EQNRVALUE, for extracting a residual value from an equation. (Fixed in the 8.0 PDF).
- %FILE returns an i/o unit from a supplied file name string. (Added in the 8.1 PDF)
- %GRPARM was not listed in Section 2, but was documented in the GRPARM section. (Added in the 8.1 PDF)
- The %LOGGEVDENSITY and %LOGGPDENSITY functions were documented in the detailed alphabetical listing, but were not listed in the summary list of Distribution/Probability functions at the beginning of Section 2. This was corrected in the version 8.o PDF.
User's Guide
