Variable creation by concetating variable value with variable name

[Dhathri Chunduru]

This is a bit of a specific request. I am trying to create variable names that concentate the value of one variable with the name of another. Picture 2 separate data files with similarly named variables but which mean different things. I'd like to merge the files together and make sure that the variables are uniquely named.

Here's an example of what my datasets look like:

dataset 1:

District	Sequence Number	Var1	Var2
A	1	1111	1222
B	1	1333	1444

dataset 2:

District	Sequence Number	Var1	Var2	Var3
A	2	1555	1666	1777
B	2	1888	1999	2111

The variable names should be associated with their sequence number, which would create unique variable names. Here's what I want my data to look like:

Item	1Var1	1Var2	2Var1	2Var2	2Var3
A	1111	1222	1555	1666	1777
B	1333	1444	1888	1999	2111

Basically, I need to figure out how to rename the variables such that they incorporate the sequence number of the dataset.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

[Joseph Coveney]

You might get better responses if you post this in the General forum. This forum is for Mata matters.

Anyway, you could reshape wide . . ., i(District) j(<Sequence Number>) your two datasets and then merge 1:1 District the two datasets. Note that the sequence number will be a suffix of the Var1 Var2 variable names. You cannot begin a variable name with a numeral.

You could also append the two datasets and then reshape, but you would have all-missing Var31 variable, which you would then drop.

[Dhathri Chunduru]

Thank you, Joseph! I didn't think of reshaping the files. This works!