command explanation

[Olivia Emma]

Hi,

recast float lat lon, force

what this commands do please

Thanks

[Clyde Schechter]

It tells Stata to convert the variables lat and lon to float data storage type from whatever storage type they currently are (most likely double). The -force- option says that even if some of the lower-order decimal places will be lost, proceed anyway. (Without the -force- option, Stata would refuse to do this if decimal places would be lost.) If you are not familiar with Stata's data storage types, see -help data types-.