Name

soundex, difference — phonetic string encoding and similarity

Synopsis

varchar soundex( in str varchar);
 
integer difference( in str1 varchar,
  in str2 varchar);
 

Description

soundex returns the 4-character Soundex code of str. The code consists of the leading letter of the input followed by three digits encoding consonant groups; vowels and similar-sounding consonants are collapsed so that words that sound alike share the same Soundex code.

difference compares the Soundex codes of two strings and returns an integer between 0 and 4 indicating their similarity. A value of 4 means identical Soundex codes; 0 means the strings have nothing in common.

Examples

Example 24.208. Simple Examples

SQL> select soundex ('Robert'), soundex ('Rupert');
SQL> select difference ('Robert', 'Rupert');
      


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