This UDF provides algorithms for fuzzy string comparison and the associated similarity search in string arrays.
It offers functions for character-based comparisons, comparing the phonetics of words and the geometric distance of characters on a keyboard.
In this way, typing errors can be recognized, similar-sounding words can be detected and other spellings of words can be included in further processing.
The function list of the UDF:
| Function | description |
|---|---|
| fuzzy array handling | |
_FS_ArraySearchFuzzy |
finds similar entries for a search value in an array |
_FS_ArrayToPhoneticGroups |
groups the values of an array according to their phonetics |
| character-based metrics | |
_FS_Levenshtein |
calculate the levenshtein distance between two strings |
_FS_OSA |
calculate the OSA ("optimal string alignment") between two strings |
_FS_Hamming |
calculate the hamming distance between two strings |
| phonetic metrics | |
_FS_Soundex_getCode |
calculate the soundex code for a given word to represent the pronounciation in english |
_FS_Soundex_distance |
calculate the soundex-pattern for both input values |
_FS_SoundexGerman_getCode |
calculate the modified soundex code for german language for a given word to represent the pronounciation in german |
_FS_SoundexGerman_distance |
calculate the soundexGerman-pattern for both input values |
_FS_Cologne_getCode |
calculate the cologne phonetics code for german language for a given word to represent the pronounciation in german |
_FS_Cologne_distance |
calculate the cologne phonetics distance between both input values |
| key-position based metrics | |
_FS_Keyboard_GetLayout |
return a map with coordinates for the characters for using in _FS_Keyboard_Distance_Chars() |
_FS_Keyboard_Distance_Chars |
calculates the geometric key spacing between two characters on a keyboard |
_FS_Keyboard_Distance_Strings |
calculate the keyboard-distance between two strings |