Address Match Key Algorithm
- by sestocker
I have a list of addresses in two separate tables that are slightly off that I need to be able to match. For example, the same address can be entered in multiple ways:
110 Test St
110 Test St.
110 Test Street
Although simple, you can imagine the situation in more complex scenerios. I am trying to develop a simple algorithm that will be able to match the above addresses as a key.
For example. the key might be "11TEST" - first two of 110, first two of Test and first two of street variant. A full match key would also include first 5 of the zipcode as well so in the above example, the full key might look like "11TEST44680".
I am looking for ideas for an effective algorithm or resources I can look at for considerations when developing this. Any ideas can be pseudo code or in your language of choice.
We are only concerned with US addresses. In fact, we are only looking at addresses from 250 zip codes from Ohio and Michigan. We also do not have access to any postal software although would be open to ideas for cost effective solutions (it would essentially be a one time use). Please be mindful that this is an initial dump of data from a government source so suggestions of how users can clean it are helpful as I build out the application but I would love to have the best initial I possibly can by being able to match addresses as best as possible.
