4.7 Built-in Module soundex

   

The soundex algorithm takes an English word, and returns an easily-computed hash of it; this hash is intended to be the same for words that sound alike. This module provides an interface to the soundex algorithm.

Note that the soundex algorithm is quite simple-minded, and isn't perfect by any measure. Its main purpose is to help looking up names in databases, when the name may be misspelled -- soundex hashes common misspellings together.

get_soundex (string)

Return the soundex hash value for a word; it will always be a 6-character string. string must contain the word to be hashed, with no leading whitespace; the case of the word is ignored.

sound_similar (string1, string2)

Compare the word in string1 with the word in string2; this is equivalent to get_soundex(string1) == get_soundex(string2).