Source code for user written commands

[Jane Burnell]

Hi, how do I obtain the source code for user written commands? Is there a requirement that the code be available when the command is released? Thanks

[Nick Cox]

help viewsource

There is no requirement to make source code accessible in so far as some users issue some of their code only as compiled Mata libraries.

For an example see discussion in https://www.statalist.org/forums/for...peed-advantage

It is more common that you can see all the code in user-written programs.

[Jane Burnell]

Great, thank you. I've been able to view the code.

[Richard Williams]

As a sidelight, I think it is a good idea to include the uncompiled Mata code with a user-written program. If I recall correctly, people have sometimes had problems with code that was compiled in Stata 14 not working with earlier versions of Stata, even though the code itself was written for an earlier version. By recompiling users can avoid such problems.

I also just like transparency in a user-written program. Most are very good, but I don't necessarily trust them as much as I do official Stata programs.