Dollar sign in local?

[Minh Nguyen]

Dear Statalist,

I would like to have a local (string) with the dollar sign in it without being evaluated. I read Nick's article on backslashes, (file:///C:/Users/wb327173/Downloads/pr0042.pdf), however it seems that they are for labeling, not for local.

In Stata, it shows the dollar sign in the string as the output in Results window.
. display "\$myfile"
$myfile

How can I do that in a local? I tried some parts here, but unable to show that dollar sign in the content of the local.
local a `"\$myfile"'
dis "`a'"

local a `"\\$myfile"'
dis "`a'"

Many thanks,
Minh

[Nick Cox]

The problem is not just getting it in. It's stopping it being misinterpreted as a global.

 
. local foo = char(36) + "frog"

. mac li
<stuff omitted> 
_foo:           $frog

. di "`foo'"

Or

 
. local bar = "\"  + char(36) + "frog"

. mac li
<stuff omitted> 
_bar:           \$frog
_foo:           $frog

. di "`bar'"
\

Why do you think you need this? I would keep dollar signs separate from almost anything else.

[Minh Nguyen]

Many thanks, Nick.
I am passing those locals to a shell, with 1 liner code, so in their languages $ is the start of the command.

Thanks,
Minh

[Nick Cox]

Getting it in may be sufficient then. Consider using char(36) if necessary.