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List of comparisons

Comparisons are used to compare identifier values between records in each cluster.

The following tables list the comparison functions provided in OEDQ, by data type. Click on the comparison for more information about its usage.

Note that Matching Transformations may be used in order to transform values before they are compared.

String comparison functions

Comparison	Compatible Identifier Type	Description	Possible outputs
Character Edit Distance	String	Compares two values and determines how closely they match by returning the number of character edits required to transform one value into the other.	A numeric value indicating the Character Edit Distance between two String values. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Character Match Percentage	String	Calculates the percentage similarity between two Strings using the character edit distance between the two values and the length of the longer value.	A numeric value indicating the Character Match Percentage. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Contains	String	Compares two values and determines if one value contains the other value.	TRUE, if the values match FALSE, if the values do not match
Exact String Match	String	Compares two values and determines if they match or not.	TRUE, if the values match FALSE, if the values do not match
Longest Common Phrase	String	Compares two values and returns the number of words in the longest sequence of words that is common between the two values.	A numeric value indicating the Longest Common Phrase. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Longest Common Phrase Percentage	String	Calculates how closely two values match by relating the longest common word sequence between two values to the length in words of either the longer, or the shorter, value.	A numeric value indicating the Longest Common Phrase Percentage. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Longest Common Substring	String	Compares two values and returns the number of characters in the longest part of each value that is common between them.	A numeric value indicating the length of the longest substring that is common in two String values. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Longest Common Substring Percentage	String	Calculates how closely two values match by relating the Longest Common Substring between two values to the length in characters of either the longer, or the shorter, value.	A numeric value indicating the Longest Common Substring Percentage. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Longest Common Substring Sum	String	Compares two values and returns the sum, in characters, of substrings over a given length that are common between the values.	A numeric value giving the sum of common substrings with the specified minimum number of characters, or greater. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Longest Common Substring Sum Percentage	String	Calculates the Longest Common Substring Sum and relates it to the length of the shorter or longer string.	A numeric value indicating the Longest Common Substring Sum Percentage. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Starts With	String	Compares two values and determines if one value starts with another value	TRUE, if one of the values starts with the other FALSE, if not
Word Edit Distance	String	Compares two values and determines how closely they match by returning the number of word edits required to transition one value to the other.	A numeric value indicating the Word Edit Distance between two String values. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Word Match Count	String	Returns the number of words that are common between two values.	The number of words that are common to two String values. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Word Match Percentage	String	Calculates the percentage similarity between two Strings using the Word Edit Distance between the two values and the length of the longer value.	A numeric value indicating the Word Match Percentage. This comparison supports the use of result bands.

Date comparison functions

Comparison	Compatible Identifier Type	Description	Possible outputs
Date Difference	Date	Compares two date values and returns the difference, in terms of time, between the two dates.	A numeric value representing the difference between the two dates. Depending on the option settings, the difference may be expressed as whole years, whole months, whole weeks, or whole days. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Date Edit Distance	Date	Compares two date values and returns the Date Edit Distance between the two values.	A numeric value indicating the edit distance between two dates. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Date Transposition Match	Date	Compares two date values with the day and month transposed and determines if they match or not.	TRUE, if the values match FALSE, if the values do not match
Exact Date Match	Date	Compares two date values and determines if they match or not.	TRUE, if the values match FALSE, if the values do not match

Number comparison functions

Comparison	Compatible Identifier Type	Description	Possible outputs
Absolute Difference	Number	Calculates and returns the Absolute Difference between two numbers.	The numerical Absolute Difference between two numbers. This comparison supports the use of result bands.
Equals	Number	Compares two number values and determines if they are equal or not.	TRUE, if the values are equal FALSE, if not
Percent Difference	Number	Calculates and returns the Percent Difference between two numbers.	The Percent Difference between two numbers. This comparison supports the use of result bands.