Conformability error when adding a scalar to a matrix

[Mauricio Varela]

Can someone please tell me why there is a conformability error? Can Stata not add a scalar to a matrix?
P.S. I have Stata 12MP


. clear all

. matrix mat1 = (0,50,100)

. scalar scalar1 = 50

. matrix mat2 = mat1 + scalar1
conformability error
r(503);

. matrix dir
mat1[1,3]

. scalar list _all
scalar1 = 50

[FernandoRios]

Hi Mauricio
The short answer is. No. At least not the way you are trying.
It may be easier if you try to do it in Mata tho:

mata:mat1 = (0,50,100)
mata:scalar1=50
mata:mat1 
mata:mat1 =mat1:+scalar1
mata:mat1

HTH

[Nick Cox]

20 and more years ago some of us cared about these limitations: and wrote some add-ons

 
STB-56 dm79 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yet more new matrix commands
(help matcorr, matewmf, matvsort, svmat2 if installed) . . N. J. Cox
7/00 pp.4--8; STB Reprints Vol 10, pp.17--23
commands to produce a correlation matrix, elementwise monadic
function of another matrix, selected subsets of matrix rows
and columns, vec or vech of a matrix, elements sorted within
a vector, matrix from a vector, and commands to save matrices
see mata matrix language incorporated into Stata 9.0


STB-50 dm69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Further new matrix commands
(help matdelrc, matewm, matmad, matpow if installed) . . . N. J. Cox
7/99 pp.5--9; STB Reprints Vol 9, pp.29--34
collection of new matrix commands providing additional matrix
checking, management, element-wise operators, maximum absolute
difference, and power

STB-39 dm49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some new matrix commands
(help matfunc, varfunc if installed) . . . . . . . . . . . J. Weesie
9/97 pp.17--20; STB Reprints Vol 7, pp.43--48
collection of new matrix commands; several for explicit matrices
and a few for implicit matrices (i.e., variables)
see mata matrix language incorporated into Stata 9

and you can find matmps lurking in these ragbags.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
help for matmps                                                 (STB-50: dm69)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Addition of matrix and scalar
-----------------------------

    matmps matrix1 scalar matrix2
    matmps scalar matrix1 matrix2


Description
-----------

matmps calculates the sum of a scalar and a matrix and places it in a
second matrix. For a scalar x and a matrix A, the second matrix B has
typical element

    B[i,j] =  x + A[i,j].

The order of the arguments is immaterial.

matrix2 may overwrite matrix1.


Example
-------

    . matmps 1 A B


Author
------

         Nicholas J. Cox
         University of Durham, U.K.
         [email protected]


Also see
--------

    STB:  STB-50 dm69

but now in 2020 there is different advice at least from me.

1. Stata's matrix language is very limited and will allow the addition of a 1x1 matrix and a scalar: but not even a vector and a scalar, so just promote the scalar to a vector:

. matrix wanted = (0, 50, 100) + J(1, 3, 50)

. mat li wanted

wanted[1,3]
     c1   c2   c3
r1   50  100  150

2. Switch to Mata!

. mata : (0, 50, 100) :+ 50
         1     2     3
    +-------------------+
  1 |   50   100   150  |
    +-------------------+