Job Submission Syntax
In order for LISSY to process user requests properly, a few exceptions to the usual statistical program syntax are required. If you are not familiar with statistical package coding first visit our Get Started with LISSY section.
Dataset Aliases
A LIS (or LWS) dataset refers to harmonised microdata for one country and one year and consists of two datafiles: one household-level file and one individual-level file including their respective household members. Some LWS datasets include a household-level replicate weights file. Instead of using file names, datafiles are referred to by short aliases, constructed as follows:
- The concatenation of the 2-digit 3166 ISO country code with the last 2-digits of the dataset reference year
- A letter used to identify the specific type of dataset within each database
| Database | Database Type | Letter Code |
|---|---|---|
| LIS | Household File | h |
| Person File | p | |
| LWS | Household File | h |
| Person File | p | |
| Implicate File | r |
As an example, Luxembourg 2004 household-level LIS (or LWS) datafile is identified by the same alias lu04h.
Datafile Calling by Statistical Package
In all statistical packages, calling a datafile requires to refer to its complete filename, which generally consists of a path, a name and an extension. In LISSY, we have created specific syntax – by statistical package – to call a dataset file based on its alias. As an example calling Luxembourg 2010 Household file (alias lu10h):
| Statistical Package | How to call a data file | Syntax example |
|---|---|---|
| R * | Pass the alias as a string to a special function read.LIS | ds <- read.LIS('lu10h'); |
| SAS | Place the & character before the alias | PROC MEANS DATA=&lu10h; |
| SPSS | Use the alias with no prefix | get file = lu10h |
| Stata | Place the $ character before the alias | use $lu10h |
* This function has some additional parameters for user convenience. In addition, due to LIS security procedures, the syntax for generating output with R in LISSY is slightly changed. click here for detailed information.
LISSY Coding Best Practices
The LISSY system processes received jobs and returns listings with aggregated results, usually within minutes. However, LISSY’s processing time can vary depending on the total number of submitted jobs at a given time and on the complexity of each job. We recommend to apply the followings to avoid system congestion
- Send each job only once. If it is not returned, do not send it again.
- Wait for each job to be returned before submitting your next one.
- Do not request frequencies on continuous variables or use commands that violate our security measures. Certain program syntax and commands will trigger system security alerts and may interrupt traffic. See our FAQs for tips on avoiding disallowed commands.
- Try breaking up statistical queries into several smaller jobs because jobs that result in very long output may cause system congestion. If you encounter difficulties repeatedly, please contact User Support.
- Debug your program before submitting a job to LISSY, especially if you are not familiar with statistical package syntax. Debugging can be done on your home computer by testing your jobs on our downloadable sample files.