[rkward-devel] rkward import module for Stata

[Michael Ash]

I have a question about modifying the file browser for the import_stata module.

read.dta(), the R command that reads in Stata files, will accept URL's
for the filename and read Stata data directly off the web.  Try for
example:

mydata <- read.dta("http://courses.umass.edu/econ753/berndt/stata/chap5-cps.dta")

However, the "File name" box in import_stata will not accept URL's.  I
do not know very much about KDE or xml, but I suspect that the
following line in import_stata.xml (borrowed from import_spss.xml)
specifies that only files, not URL's, can be specified:

<browser type="file" id="file" label="File name"/>

Is there a straightforward way to permit files or URL's to be specified?

Thank you very much.

Best regards,
Michael


-- 
Michael Ash, Associate Professor
  of Economics and Public Policy
Department of Economics and CPPA
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
Tel +1-413-545-6329 Fax +1-413-545-2921
Email mash at econs.umass.edu
http://people.umass.edu/maash