multishell

multishell allows the efficient processing of loops and multiple do files across a single and multiple computers. It dissects forvalues and foreach loops and creates for each variation of the loop (tasks) a separate do file and batch file. Stata\'s build in winexec command is used to start a new instance of Stata using the .bat file. The instance is closed as soon as the task is completed (or failed, then it is reported) and a new instance processing the next task is started. One instance is reserved to organise the tasks and starts other instances. Multiple instances can be run in parallel on the same computer or across computers, mimicking a cluster. The computer which acts as a server will distribute the tasks to the different machines, given the maximum number of instances possible on each machine.