Master Index Match Engine Reference

Master Index Match Engine Match Types

The default match configuration file, matchConfigFile.cfg, defines several rules that you can customize for the type of data being processed. Each rule is identified by a match type in the first column of each row. This value identifies the type of matching to perform to the match engine. In a master index application, the match type is entered for each field in the match string section of mefa.xml.

The match configuration Master Index Match Enginefile appears under the Match Engine node of the master index project. For more information about the comparison functions used for each match type and how the weights are tuned, see Customizing the Match Configuration and Master Index Match Engine Comparison Functions.

The following four tables list match types that are typically used in processing different data types, including:

The following match types are designed for matching on person data.

Table 12 Person Data Match Types


This indicator ...	processes this data type ...
FirstName	A first name field, including middle name, alias first name, and alias middle name fields.
LastName	A last name field, including alias last name fields.
SSN	A field containing a social security number.
Gender	A field containing a gender code.

The following match types are designed for matching on address data.

Table 13 Address Match Types


This indicator ...	processes this data type ...
StreetName	The parsed street name field of a street address.
HouseNumber	The parsed house number field of a street address.
StreetDir	The parsed street direction field of a street address.
StreetType	The parsed street type field of a street address.

The following match types are designed for matching on business names.

Table 14 Business Name Match Types


This match type ...	processes this data type ...
PrimaryName	The parsed name field of a business name.
OrgTypeKeyword	The parsed organization type field of a business name.
AssocTypeKeyword	The parsed association type field of a business name.
LocationTypeKeyword	The parsed location type field of a business name.
AliasList	The parsed alias type field of a business name.
IndustrySectorList	The parsed industry sector field of a business name.
IndustryTypeKeyword	The parsed industry type field of a business name.
Url	The parsed URL field of a business name.

Miscellaneous match types provide additional logic for matching on a variety of data types, such as date, numeric, string, and character fields.

Table 15 Miscellaneous Match Types


This indicator ...	processes this data type ...
Date	The year of a date field.
DateDays	The day, month, and year of a date field.
DateMonths	The month and year of a date field.
DateHours	The hour, day, month, and year of a date field.
DateMinutes	The minute, hour, day, month, and year of a date field.
DateSeconds	The seconds, minute, hour, day, month, and year of a date field.
String	A generic string field.
Unistring	A generic Unicode string field.
Integer	A field containing integers.
Real	A field containing real numbers.
Char	A field containing a single character.
pro	Any field on which you want the Master Index Match Engine to use prorated weights.
Exac	Any field you want the Master Index Match Engine to match character for character.
CSC	A generic string.
DOB	A date of birth in string rather than date format.