soundex

n. algorithm used to encode words in way that enables words with identical sounds to be encoded in the same manner (Computers)

This article is about the phonetic algorithm. For the Rock n' Soul band, see the SoundEx. Soundex is a phonetic algorithm for indexing names by sound, as pronounced in English. The goal is for names with the same pronunciation to be encoded to the same representation so that they can be matched despite minor differences in spelling. Soundex is the most widely known of all phonetic algorithms and is often used (incorrectly) as a synonym for "phonetic algorithm". Improvements to Soundex are the basis for many modern phonetic algorithms.
See more at Wikipedia.org...

<algorithm, text> An algorithm "6"
Other characters are ignored and repeated characters are encoded as though they were a single character. Encoding stops when the resulting string is four characters long, adding trailing "0"s if it is shorter. For example, "SMITH" or "SMYTHE" would both be encoded as "S530".
(1995-01-05)