Fuzzy Matching - new version plus explanation

al_b_cnu

Well-known Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2003
Messages
4,545
It has been a while since I originally posted my Fuzzy matching UDF’s on the board, and several variants have appeared subsequently.

I thought it time to ‘put the record straight’ & post a definitive version which contains slightly more efficient code, and better matching algorithms, so here it is.

Firstly, I must state that the Fuzzy matching algorithms are very CPU hungry, and should be used sparingly. If for instance you require to lookup a match for a string which starts with, contains or ends with a specified value, this can be performed far more efficiently using the MATCH function:
Fuzzy Examples.xls
ABCDE
1Starts WithEndsContains
2BilljelenBill
3Mr Bill Jelen433
4Bill Jelen
5Joe Bloggs
6Fred Smith
MATCH Example


... Continued ...
 
al_b_cnu

I just wanted to say sweet bit of code! I will def be using this to replace some of my wildcard functions, it alows for more accuracy in matching similar strings.

All the best!

Fresh
 
Upvote 0

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Author John Walkenbach was Mr Spreadsheet until his retirement in June 2019.
al_b_cnu,

This was exactly what I've was needing for a long time. Thanks a bunch for the post!

I did find one issue with my use and hoped you could give a pointer on a fix:

Problem:
I'm trying to compare address strings from two list. With addresses there is often times concatenation and abbreviation.

I've been using Damon Ostrander code for a while.
http://www.mrexcel.com/fuzzy/fuzzy.shtml

Then I found yours which is a great all around UDF. The issue I ran into is that the other code made the correct match based on string order.

<TABLE borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width=615 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#c0c0c0 height=20>String 1

</TD><TD width="30%" bgColor=#c0c0c0 height=20>String 2

</TD><TD width="18%" bgColor=#c0c0c0 height=20>D. Ostrander

</TD><TD width="19%" bgColor=#c0c0c0 height=20>fuzzypercent

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" bgColor=#ffff00 height=20>1049 N 3RD ST

</TD><TD width="30%" bgColor=#ffff00 height=20>1049 N. THIRD ST. #500

</TD><TD width="18%" bgColor=#ffff00 height=20>92.3%

</TD><TD width="19%" height=20>27.0%

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" height=20>

</TD><TD width="30%" height=20>1119 NE 23RD ST

</TD><TD width="18%" height=20>84.6%

</TD><TD width="19%" height=20>26.7%

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" height=20>

</TD><TD width="30%" height=20>1150 W 3rd St

</TD><TD width="18%" height=20>76.9%

</TD><TD width="19%" bgColor=#ffff00 height=20>43.2%

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="33%" height=20>

</TD><TD width="30%" height=20>962 S 3rd St

</TD><TD width="18%" height=20>69.2%

</TD><TD width="19%" height=20>27.8%

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>​

Beyond a find & replace to normalize spelling variations is there a simple code change to make the string order a the main factor?

Thanks again,
DanB42
 
Upvote 0
Hi DanB42,

Suggest you either:
1) Try using Algorithm 1 which is intended to catch spolling mistooks,
2) failing that, you could always just replace the calls to FuzzyPercent with Dan's Fuzzy UDF :)
 
Upvote 0
Hi al_b_cnu,

Just to re-ignite this thread.... i may have found an anomoly:

If you put in the following:

DM1
DM2
DM3


And try and match "DM 2", it always finds DM1 as the nearest match, on any algorithm, where DM2 is surely a much closer match! Am i using the thing wrongly?

Thanks!
 
Upvote 0
Hi al_b_cnu,

Just to re-ignite this thread.... i may have found an anomoly:

If you put in the following:

DM1
DM2
DM3


And try and match "DM 2", it always finds DM1 as the nearest match, on any algorithm, where DM2 is surely a much closer match! Am i using the thing wrongly?

Thanks!

Hi ThorpyUK,

You're right :(

I can correct this for algorithm 2, but not sure why it does it for algorithm 1.

I'll investigate, but am a tad busy @ the moment, so I may be a few days.

"Previously" as they say in the soaps, I've amended the code to include groups, and also incorporate Dan Ostrander's code (hope he doesnt mind)

It seems that Dan's matching algorithm works fine dammit.

Here's the updated code, try using algorithm = 4:
Code:
Option Explicit

Type RankInfo
    Offset As Integer
    Percentage As Single
End Type

Dim mudRankData() As RankInfo
Dim miBestMatchPtr As Integer

Dim TopMatch         As Integer
Dim strCompare       As String


Function FuzzyPercent(ByVal String1 As String, _
                      ByVal String2 As String, _
                      Optional Algorithm As Integer = 3, _
                      Optional Normalised As Boolean = False) As Single
'*************************************
'** Return a % match on two strings **
'*************************************
Dim intLen1 As Integer, intLen2 As Integer
Dim intCurLen As Integer
Dim intTo As Integer
Dim intPos As Integer
Dim intPtr As Integer
Dim intScore As Integer
Dim intTotScore As Integer
Dim intStartPos As Integer
Dim sngScore As Single
Dim strWork As String

'-------------------------------------------------------
'-- If strings havent been normalised, normalise them --
'-------------------------------------------------------
If Normalised = False Then
    String1 = LCase$(Application.Trim(String1))
    String2 = LCase$(Application.Trim(String2))
End If

'----------------------------------------------
'-- Give 100% match if strings exactly equal --
'----------------------------------------------
If String1 = String2 Then
    FuzzyPercent = 1
    Exit Function
End If

intLen1 = Len(String1)
intLen2 = Len(String2)

'----------------------------------------
'-- Give 0% match if string length < 2 --
'----------------------------------------
If intLen1 < 2 Then
    FuzzyPercent = 0
    Exit Function
End If

intTotScore = 0                   'initialise total possible score
intScore = 0                      'initialise current score

'--------------------------------------------------------
'-- If Algorithm = 1 or 3, Search for single characters --
'--------------------------------------------------------
If (Algorithm And 1) <> 0 Then
    If intLen1 < intLen2 Then
        FuzzyAlg1 String2, String1, intScore, intTotScore
    Else
        FuzzyAlg1 String1, String2, intScore, intTotScore
    End If
End If

'-----------------------------------------------------------
'-- If Algorithm = 2 or 3, Search for pairs, triplets etc. --
'-----------------------------------------------------------
If (Algorithm And 2) <> 0 Then
    If intLen1 < intLen2 Then
        FuzzyAlg2 String2, String1, intScore, intTotScore
    Else
        FuzzyAlg2 String1, String2, intScore, intTotScore
    End If
End If

'------------------------------------------------------
'-- If Algorithm = 4,5,6,7, use Dan Ostander's code. --
'------------------------------------------------------
If (Algorithm And 4) <> 0 Then
    If intLen1 < intLen2 Then
        sngScore = FuzzyAlg4(String2, String1)
    Else
        sngScore = FuzzyAlg4(String1, String2)
    End If
    intScore = intScore + (sngScore * 100)
    intTotScore = intTotScore + 100
End If

FuzzyPercent = intScore / intTotScore

End Function

Private Sub FuzzyAlg1(ByVal String1 As String, _
                      ByVal String2 As String, _
                      ByRef Score As Integer, _
                      ByRef TotScore As Integer)
Dim intLen1 As Integer, intPos As Integer, intPtr As Integer, intStartPos As Integer

intLen1 = Len(String1)
TotScore = TotScore + intLen1              'update total possible score
intPos = 0
For intPtr = 1 To intLen1
    intStartPos = intPos + 1
    intPos = InStr(intStartPos, String2, Mid$(String1, intPtr, 1))
    If intPos > 0 Then
        If intPos > intStartPos + 3 Then     'No match if char is > 3 bytes away
            intPos = intStartPos
        Else
            Score = Score + 1          'Update current score
        End If
    Else
        intPos = intStartPos
    End If
Next intPtr
End Sub
Private Sub FuzzyAlg2(ByVal String1 As String, _
                        ByVal String2 As String, _
                        ByRef Score As Integer, _
                        ByRef TotScore As Integer)
Dim intCurLen As Integer, intLen1 As Integer, intTo As Integer, intPtr As Integer, intPos As Integer
Dim strWork As String

intLen1 = Len(String1)
For intCurLen = 2 To intLen1
    strWork = String2                          'Get a copy of String2
    intTo = intLen1 - intCurLen + 1
    TotScore = TotScore + Int(intLen1 / intCurLen)  'Update total possible score
    For intPtr = 1 To intTo Step intCurLen
        intPos = InStr(strWork, Mid$(String1, intPtr, intCurLen))
        If intPos > 0 Then
            Mid$(strWork, intPos, intCurLen) = String$(intCurLen, &H0) 'corrupt found string
            Score = Score + 1     'Update current score
        End If
    Next intPtr
Next intCurLen

End Sub
Private Function FuzzyAlg4(strIn1 As String, strIn2 As String) As Single

Dim L1               As Integer
Dim In1Mask(1 To 24) As Long     'strIn1 is 24 characters max
Dim iCh              As Integer
Dim N                As Long
Dim strTry           As String
Dim strTest          As String

TopMatch = 0
L1 = Len(strIn1)
strTest = UCase(strIn1)
strCompare = UCase(strIn2)
For iCh = 1 To L1
    In1Mask(iCh) = 2 ^ iCh
Next iCh      'Loop thru all ordered combinations of characters in strIn1
For N = 2 ^ (L1 + 1) - 1 To 1 Step -1
    strTry = ""
    For iCh = 1 To L1
        If In1Mask(iCh) And N Then
            strTry = strTry & Mid(strTest, iCh, 1)
        End If
    Next iCh
    If Len(strTry) > TopMatch Then FuzzyAlg4Test strTry
Next N
FuzzyAlg4 = TopMatch / CSng(L1)
End Function
Sub FuzzyAlg4Test(strIn As String)

Dim l          As Integer
Dim strTry   As String
Dim iCh        As Integer

l = Len(strIn)
If l <= TopMatch Then Exit Sub
strTry = "*"
For iCh = 1 To l
    strTry = strTry & Mid(strIn, iCh, 1) & "*"
Next iCh
If strCompare Like strTry Then
    If l > TopMatch Then TopMatch = l
End If
End Sub

Function FuzzyVLookup(ByVal LookupValue As String, _
                      ByVal TableArray As Range, _
                      ByVal IndexNum As Integer, _
                      Optional NFPercent As Single = 0.05, _
                      Optional Rank As Integer = 1, _
                      Optional Algorithm As Integer = 3, _
                      Optional AdditionalCols As Integer = 0, _
                      Optional LookupColOffset As Integer = 0, _
                      Optional GroupColOffset As Integer = 0, _
                      Optional GroupValue As Variant = "") As Variant
'********************************************************************************
'** Function to Fuzzy match LookupValue with entries in                        **
'** column 1 of table specified by TableArray.                                 **
'** TableArray must specify the top left cell of the range to be searched      **
'** The function stops scanning the table when an empty cell in column 1       **
'** is found.                                                                  **
'** For each entry in column 1 of the table, FuzzyPercent is called to match   **
'** LookupValue with the Table entry.                                          **
'** 'Rank' is an optional parameter which may take any value > 0               **
'**        (default 1) and causes the function to return the 'nth' best        **
'**         match (where 'n' is defined by 'Rank' parameter)                   **
'** If the 'Rank' match percentage < NFPercent (Default 5%), #N/A is returned. **
'** IndexNum is the column number of the entry in TableArray required to be    **
'** returned, as follows:                                                      **
'** If IndexNum > 0 and the 'Rank' percentage match is >= NFPercent            **
'**                 (Default 5%) the column entry indicated by IndexNum is     **
'**                 returned.                                                  **
'** if IndexNum = 0 and the 'Rank' percentage match is >= NFPercent            **
'**                 (Default 5%) the offset row (starting at 1) is returned.   **
'**                 This value can be used directly in the 'Index' function.   **
'**                                                                            **
'** Algorithm can take one of the following values:                            **
'** Algorithm = 1:                                                             **
'**     This algorithm is best suited for matching mis-spellings.              **
'**     For each character in 'String1', a search is performed on 'String2'.   **
'**     The search is deemed successful if a character is found in 'String2'   **
'**     within 3 characters of the current position.                           **
'**     A score is kept of matching characters which is returned as a          **
'**     percentage of the total possible score.                                **
'** Algorithm = 2:                                                             **
'**     This algorithm is best suited for matching sentences, or               **
'**     'firstname lastname' compared with 'lastname firstname' combinations   **
'**     A count of matching pairs, triplets, quadruplets etc. in 'String1' and **
'**     'String2' is returned as a percentage of the total possible.           **
'** Algorithm = 3: Both Algorithms 1 and 2 are performed.                      **
'** Algorithm = 4: Dan Ostrander's algorithm                                   **
'**                                                                            **
'** The following parameters allow matching by group, and only those values    **
'** which are in the group specified will be considered for matching.          **                  **
'** GroupColOffset                                                             **
'** This parameter specifies the offset column which contains the group values **
'** To trigger group matching, this must be a non-zero integer                 **
'** GroupValue                                                                 **
'** This parameter specifies the Group to be considered for matching           **
'********************************************************************************
Dim bWanted As Boolean
Dim rCur As Range
Dim rSearchRange As Range

Dim sngMinPercent As Single

Dim lEndRow As Long

Dim vCurValue As Variant

'--------------------------------------------------------------
'--    Validation                                            --
'--------------------------------------------------------------

LookupValue = LCase$(Application.Trim(LookupValue))

If IsMissing(NFPercent) Then
    sngMinPercent = 0.05
Else
    If (NFPercent <= 0) Or (NFPercent > 1) Then
        FuzzyVLookup = "*** 'NFPercent' must be a percentage > zero ***"
        Exit Function
    End If
    sngMinPercent = NFPercent
End If

If Rank < 1 Then
    FuzzyVLookup = "*** 'Rank' must be an integer > 0 ***"
    Exit Function
End If

ReDim mudRankData(1 To Rank)

lEndRow = TableArray.Rows.Count
If VarType(TableArray.Cells(lEndRow, 1).Value) = vbEmpty Then
    lEndRow = TableArray.Cells(lEndRow, 1).End(xlUp).Row
End If
Set rSearchRange = Range(TableArray.Cells(1, 1), TableArray.Cells(lEndRow, 1))

'---------------
'-- Main loop --
'---------------

If Len(GroupValue) <> 0 Then
    With rSearchRange.Offset(, GroupColOffset)
        For Each rCur In rSearchRange.Offset(, GroupColOffset)
            vCurValue = rCur.Value
            If VarType(vCurValue) = vbString Then
                bWanted = LCase$(CStr(vCurValue)) = LCase$(CStr(GroupValue))
            Else
                bWanted = Val(vCurValue) = Val(GroupValue)
            End If
            If bWanted Then
                FuzzyVlookupMain LookupValue:=LookupValue, _
                                TableArray:=rCur.Offset(, GroupColOffset * -1), _
                                IndexNum:=IndexNum, _
                                NFPercent:=NFPercent, _
                                Rank:=Rank, _
                                Algorithm:=Algorithm, _
                                AdditionalCols:=AdditionalCols, _
                                LookupColOffset:=LookupColOffset
            End If
        Next rCur
    End With
Else
    For Each rCur In rSearchRange
        FuzzyVlookupMain LookupValue:=LookupValue, _
                        TableArray:=rCur, _
                        IndexNum:=IndexNum, _
                        NFPercent:=NFPercent, _
                        Rank:=Rank, _
                        Algorithm:=Algorithm, _
                        AdditionalCols:=AdditionalCols, _
                        LookupColOffset:=LookupColOffset
    Next rCur
End If

If mudRankData(Rank).Percentage < sngMinPercent Then
    '--------------------------------------
    '-- Return '#N/A' if below NFPercent --
    '--------------------------------------
    FuzzyVLookup = CVErr(xlErrNA)
Else
    miBestMatchPtr = mudRankData(Rank).Offset - TableArray.Cells(1, 1).Row + 1
    If IndexNum > 0 Then
        '-----------------------------------
        '-- Return column entry specified --
        '-----------------------------------
        FuzzyVLookup = TableArray.Cells(miBestMatchPtr, IndexNum)
    Else
        '-----------------------
        '-- Return offset row --
        '-----------------------
        FuzzyVLookup = miBestMatchPtr
    End If
End If
End Function
Private Sub FuzzyVlookupMain(ByVal LookupValue As String, _
                                    ByVal TableArray As Range, _
                                    ByVal IndexNum As Integer, _
                                    Optional NFPercent As Single = 0.05, _
                                    Optional Rank As Integer = 1, _
                                    Optional Algorithm As Integer = 3, _
                                    Optional AdditionalCols As Integer = 0, _
                                    Optional LookupColOffset As Integer = 0)
Dim I As Integer
Dim intRankPtr As Integer
Dim intRankPtr1 As Integer
Dim strListString As String
Dim sngCurPercent As Single
Dim sngMinPercent As Single
Dim vCurValue As Variant

vCurValue = ""
For I = 0 To AdditionalCols
    vCurValue = vCurValue & CStr(TableArray.Offset(0, I + LookupColOffset).Value)
Next I
If VarType(vCurValue) = vbString Then
    strListString = LCase$(Application.Trim(vCurValue))
    
    '------------------------------------------------
    '-- Fuzzy match strings & get percentage match --
    '------------------------------------------------
    sngCurPercent = FuzzyPercent(String1:=LookupValue, _
                                 String2:=strListString, _
                                 Algorithm:=Algorithm, _
                                 Normalised:=True)
    
    If sngCurPercent >= sngMinPercent Then
        '---------------------------
        '-- Store in ranked array --
        '---------------------------
        For intRankPtr = 1 To Rank
            If sngCurPercent > mudRankData(intRankPtr).Percentage Then
                For intRankPtr1 = Rank To intRankPtr + 1 Step -1
                    With mudRankData(intRankPtr1)
                        .Offset = mudRankData(intRankPtr1 - 1).Offset
                        .Percentage = mudRankData(intRankPtr1 - 1).Percentage
                    End With
                Next intRankPtr1
                With mudRankData(intRankPtr)
                    .Offset = TableArray.Row
                    .Percentage = sngCurPercent
                End With
                Exit Sub
            End If
        Next intRankPtr
    End If
    
End If
End Sub
Function FuzzyHLookup(ByVal LookupValue As String, _
                      ByVal TableArray As Range, _
                      ByVal IndexNum As Integer, _
                      Optional NFPercent As Single = 0.05, _
                      Optional Rank As Integer = 1, _
                      Optional Algorithm As Integer = 3) As Variant
'********************************************************************************
'** Function to Fuzzy match LookupValue with entries in                        **
'** row 1 of table specified by TableArray.                                    **
'** TableArray must specify the top left cell of the range to be searched      **
'** The function stops scanning the table when an empty cell in row 1          **
'** is found.                                                                  **
'** For each entry in row 1 of the table, FuzzyPercent is called to match      **
'** LookupValue with the Table entry.                                          **
'** 'Rank' is an optional parameter which may take any value > 0               **
'**        (default 1) and causes the function to return the 'nth' best        **
'**         match (where 'n' is defined by 'Rank' parameter)                   **
'** If the 'Rank' match percentage < NFPercent (Default 5%), #N/A is returned. **
'** IndexNum is the row number of the entry in TableArray required to be       **
'** returned, as follows:                                                      **
'** If IndexNum > 0 and the 'Rank' percentage match is >= NFPercent            **
'**                 (Default 5%) the row entry indicated by IndexNum is        **
'**                 returned.                                                  **
'** if IndexNum = 0 and the 'Rank' percentage match is >= NFPercent            **
'**                 (Default 5%) the offset col (starting at 0) is returned.   **
'**                 This value can be used directly in the 'OffSet' function.  **
'**                                                                            **
'** Algorithm can take one of the following values:                            **
'** Algorithm = 1:                                                             **
'**     For each character in 'String1', a search is performed on 'String2'.   **
'**     The search is deemed successful if a character is found in 'String2'   **
'**     within 3 characters of the current position.                           **
'**     A score is kept of matching characters which is returned as a          **
'**     percentage of the total possible score.                                **
'** Algorithm = 2:                                                             **
'**     A count of matching pairs, triplets, quadruplets etc. in 'String1' and **
'**     'String2' is returned as a percentage of the total possible.           **
'** Algorithm = 3: Both Algorithms 1 and 2 are performed.                      **
'********************************************************************************
Dim R As Range

Dim strListString As String
Dim strWork As String

Dim sngMinPercent As Single
Dim sngWork As Single
Dim sngCurPercent  As Single

Dim miBestMatchPtr As Integer
Dim intPtr As Integer
Dim intRankPtr As Integer
Dim intRankPtr1 As Integer

Dim iEndCol As Integer

Dim vCurValue As Variant
'--------------------------------------------------------------
'--    Validation                                            --
'--------------------------------------------------------------
LookupValue = LCase$(Application.Trim(LookupValue))

If IsMissing(NFPercent) Then
    sngMinPercent = 0.05
Else
    If (NFPercent <= 0) Or (NFPercent > 1) Then
        FuzzyHLookup = "*** 'NFPercent' must be a percentage > zero ***"
        Exit Function
    End If
    sngMinPercent = NFPercent
End If

If Rank < 1 Then
    FuzzyHLookup = "*** 'Rank' must be an integer > 0 ***"
    Exit Function
End If

ReDim mudRankData(1 To Rank)
'**************************
iEndCol = TableArray.Columns.Count
If VarType(TableArray.Cells(1, iEndCol).Value) = vbEmpty Then
    iEndCol = TableArray.Cells(1, iEndCol).End(xlToLeft).Column
End If

'---------------
'-- Main loop --
'---------------
For Each R In Range(TableArray.Cells(1, 1), TableArray.Cells(1, iEndCol))
    vCurValue = R.Value
    If VarType(vCurValue) = vbString Then
        strListString = LCase$(Application.Trim(vCurValue))
        
        '------------------------------------------------
        '-- Fuzzy match strings & get percentage match --
        '------------------------------------------------
        sngCurPercent = FuzzyPercent(String1:=LookupValue, _
                                     String2:=strListString, _
                                     Algorithm:=Algorithm, _
                                     Normalised:=True)
        
        If sngCurPercent >= sngMinPercent Then
            '---------------------------
            '-- Store in ranked array --
            '---------------------------
            For intRankPtr = 1 To Rank
                If sngCurPercent > mudRankData(intRankPtr).Percentage Then
                    For intRankPtr1 = Rank To intRankPtr + 1 Step -1
                        With mudRankData(intRankPtr1)
                            .Offset = mudRankData(intRankPtr1 - 1).Offset
                            .Percentage = mudRankData(intRankPtr1 - 1).Percentage
                        End With
                    Next intRankPtr1
                    With mudRankData(intRankPtr)
                        .Offset = R.Column
                        .Percentage = sngCurPercent
                    End With
                    Exit For
                End If
            Next intRankPtr
        End If
        
    End If
Next R

If mudRankData(Rank).Percentage < sngMinPercent Then
    '--------------------------------------
    '-- Return '#N/A' if below NFPercent --
    '--------------------------------------
    FuzzyHLookup = CVErr(xlErrNA)
Else
    miBestMatchPtr = mudRankData(Rank).Offset - TableArray.Cells(1, 1).Column + 1
    If IndexNum > 0 Then
        '-----------------------------------
        '-- Return row entry specified --
        '-----------------------------------
        FuzzyHLookup = TableArray.Cells(IndexNum, miBestMatchPtr)
    Else
        '-----------------------
        '-- Return offset col --
        '-----------------------
        FuzzyHLookup = miBestMatchPtr
    End If
End If
End Function
 
Upvote 0
Thanks al...

Algorithm 4 does seem to work, although it's pig slow!!!! In fact, it didn't finish when i tried to run it from my userform, and your algorithms are lightening quick, so i will keep my eyes glued to this thread for your fix!

Thanks, glad i could contribute in a tiny way to your awesome code...
 
Upvote 0
Thanks al...

Algorithm 4 does seem to work, although it's pig slow!!!! In fact, it didn't finish when i tried to run it from my userform, and your algorithms are lightening quick, so i will keep my eyes glued to this thread for your fix!

Thanks, glad i could contribute in a tiny way to your awesome code...


"Lightning quick Fuzzy Matching algorithm" is an oxymoron!

but thanks for the compliment anyway.

I've sorted algorithm 2, Algorithm 1 is the sticking point.

"I'll be back" as someone famous used to say
 
Upvote 0
If i'm using algorithm 3, it wont matter anyway will it?

(although it's missing the point somewhat i'll agree!)


As i'm only running the algorithm once, the speed is less of an issue for my use....
 
Upvote 0
If i'm using algorithm 3, it wont matter anyway will it?

(although it's missing the point somewhat i'll agree!)


As i'm only running the algorithm once, the speed is less of an issue for my use....

If you specify algorithm 3 the code uses an amalgamation of Algotithm 1 & 2 scores.

Here is an extract of the algorithm explanations:
Code:
'** Algorithm can take one of the following values:                            **
'** Algorithm = 1:                                                             **
'**     This algorithm is best suited for matching mis-spellings.              **
'**     For each character in 'String1', a search is performed on 'String2'.   **
'**     The search is deemed successful if a character is found in 'String2'   **
'**     within 3 characters of the current position.                           **
'**     A score is kept of matching characters which is returned as a          **
'**     percentage of the total possible score.                                **
'** Algorithm = 2:                                                             **
'**     This algorithm is best suited for matching sentences, or               **
'**     'firstname lastname' compared with 'lastname firstname' combinations   **
'**     A count of matching pairs, triplets, quadruplets etc. in 'String1' and **
'**     'String2' is returned as a percentage of the total possible.           **
'** Algorithm = 3: Both Algorithms 1 and 2 are performed.                      **
'** Algorithm = 4: Dan Ostrander's algorithm                                   **

(no prizez for guessing what algorithms 5,6 & 7 do)
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
I know, but my point was that surely a fixed algorithm 2 would give a higher matchpercentage than a non-fixed algorithm 1, therefore making it work when the 2 are combined...
 
Upvote 0

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