Rex Swain's SOUNDEX Utility

Last updated 19 July 1999

The REXX program SOUNDEX.REX encodes a word (typically a surname) into a 4-character code. These codes may be compared to find other similar words, or detect spelling errors.

For instance, let's say you have a built a database of surnames and their soundex codes:

Name	Soundex
Euler	E460
Hilbert	H416
Hilburt	H416
Knuth	K530
Philips	P412
Phillips	P412

If a user enters a name "Hilbart", you might first search for an exact match on the name. Not finding one, you might then compute the soundex code for the name as entered (Hilbart = H416), look that code up the the database, and suggest to the user that they might have meant "Hilbert" or "Hilburt".

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