Summary

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	File:     soundex1.icn

	Subject:  Procedures for Soundex algorithm

	Author:   John David Stone

	Date:     April 30, 1993

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   This file is in the public domain.

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  When names are communicated by telephone, they are often transcribed
  incorrectly.  An organization that has to keep track of a lot of names has
  a need, therefore, for some system of representing or encoding a name that
  will mitigate the effects of transcription errors.  One idea, originally
  proposed by Margaret K. Odell and Robert C. Russell, uses the following
  encoding system to try to bring together occurrences of the same surname,
  variously spelled:

  Encode each of the letters of the name according to the
  following equivalences:

        a, e, h, i, o, u, w, y -> *
        b, f, p, v             -> 1
        c, g, j, k, q, s, x, z -> 2
        d, t                   -> 3
        l                      -> 4
        m, n                   -> 5
        r                      -> 6


  If any two adjacent letters have the same code, change the code for the
  second one to *.

  The Soundex representation consists of four characters: the initial letter
  of the name, and the first three digit (non-asterisk) codes corresponding
  to letters after the initial.  If there are fewer than three such digit
  codes, use all that there are, and add zeroes at the end to make up the
  four-character representation.

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This file is part of the (main) package.

encode(name)

soundex(name)

strip(name)