=========================================================================
Date:         Wed, 12 Jul 2006 09:34:50 -0500
Reply-To:     "Beadle, ViAnn" <viann@spss.com>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         "Beadle, ViAnn" <viann@spss.com>
Subject:      Re: Syntax for Finding errors
Comments: To: "[Ela Bonbevan]" <bonbevan@AOL.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

1. never use a construct like
 x eq sysmis
because the outcome is always missing
 
Instead do this:
 sysmis(x)
 
2. any new numeric variable is initialized to system missing so 
 compute error =$sysmis.
is unnecessary
 
Handling missing values is tricky in transformations.

________________________________

From: SPSSX(r) Discussion on behalf of [Ela Bonbevan]
Sent: Wed 7/12/2006 9:06 AM
To: SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Syntax for Finding errors



Hello all,


I have been trying to write a little bit of syntax to identify errors in
my database.  I know I am close but I can't seem to get the right syntax
for identify blank cells.  In this case the error is defined as a case
with a value in the variable "region" but no value in the
variable "country".  Region is coded 1-10 - and so is country.  I wrote
the syntax below to identify all of these error cases as a value of 1 on a
new variable "error".

This is what I have so far....

Compute error = $sysmis.
If (region > 0) and (country = sysmis) error = 1.

...but it won't work!

Many thanks