Grocer Function
NAME
diff_date - returns the difference between 2 dates
CALLING SEQUENCE
num=diff_date(lastdate,firstdate)
PARAMETERS
Input
-
lastdate = last date
-
firstdate = first date
Output
-
num = the number of observations between the 2 dates
DESCRIPTION
Computes the number of observations between 2 dates.
EXAMPLE
1) d = diff_date('1995a','1985a')
2) d = diff_date('1987q4','1985q2')
3) d = diff_date('72m1','83m12')
The first example gives 10, the second 10 also and the third -143.
AUTHOR
Eric Dubois 2002