18 lines
906 B
Text
18 lines
906 B
Text
|
Soundex is a phonetic algorithm for indexing names by sound, as
|
||
|
|
pronounced in English. The goal is for names with the same pronunciation
|
||
|
|
to be encoded to the same representation so that they can be matched
|
||
|
|
despite minor differences in spelling. Soundex is the most widely
|
||
|
|
known of all phonetic algorithms and is often used (incorrectly)
|
||
|
|
as a synonym for "phonetic algorithm". Improvements to Soundex are
|
||
|
|
the basis for many modern phonetic algorithms. (Wikipedia, 2007)
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
This module implements the original soundex algorithm developed by
|
||
|
|
Robert Russell and Margaret Odell, patented in 1918 and 1922, as
|
||
|
|
well as a variation called "American Soundex" used for US census
|
||
|
|
data, and current maintained by the National Archives and Records
|
||
|
|
Administration (NARA).
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The soundex algorithm may be recognized from Donald Knuth's The Art
|
||
|
|
of Computer Programming. The algorithm described by Knuth is the
|
||
|
|
NARA algorithm.
|