Newsgroups: comp.ai
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!rochester!udel!gatech!news.mathworks.com!tank.news.pipex.net!pipex!uknet!newsfeed.ed.ac.uk!leeds.ac.uk!news
From: george@scs.leeds.ac.uk (G Demetriou)
Subject: Re: Approximate string matching
Originator: george@csgps1.leeds.ac.uk
Message-ID: <1995Oct14.171252.29543@leeds.ac.uk>
NNTP-Posting-Host: csgps1.leeds.ac.uk
Organization: School Of Computer Studies, University of Leeds
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 1995 18:12:52 +0100 (BST)
References: <KPM.95Oct4180021@netcom22.netcom.com>
    <45cq2c$2ou@ixnews4.ix.netcom.com>
Lines: 47

In article <45cq2c$2ou@ixnews4.ix.netcom.com>, dontar@ix.netcom.com (Donald E. Tarbell ) writes:
|> In <KPM.95Oct4180021@netcom22.netcom.com> kpm@netcom.com (Keith Morgan)
|> writes: 
|> >
|> >I need an algorithm to approximately match character strings.
|> >Basically, given two input strings I want the algorithm to compute the
|> >maximum number of characters the two have in common while respecting
|> >the order of the characters in both strings. For example,
|> >
|> >bar <-> foobar = 3
|> >foo <-> bar = 0
|> >jean's gip joint <-> jip = 2
|> >moargan <-> maohren = 4
|> >
|> >Does anyone have have any references for decent algorithms to do this,
|> or
|> >even better (ahem!), a pointer to some code? Thanks for any help.
|> >
|> >--
|> >Keith Morgan | kpm@netcom.com
|> >-- 
|> >Keith Morgan | kpm@netcom.com
|> 
|> There's an algorithm called Soundex, which the Airlines have used,
|> and which does something like this, although not exactly.  I
|> believe the idea there was to transform any string, like someone's
|> name, into a common form, such that another similar sounding name
|> would transform into the same form or one close to it.
|> 
|> Don
|> 


Could someone give more details about the soundex algorithm such as references,
pseudocode or even the names of ftp sites (if this software happens to be freely
available somewhere).

Thanks in advance.

=============================================================================
                        George C. Demetriou
Artificial Intelligence Division, School of Computer Studies

 phone: +44 1132 336827                                      Leeds University
 FAX:   +44 1132 335468                                         Leeds LS2 9JT
 email: george@scs.leeds.ac.uk                                 United Kingdom
=============================================================================
