Configuring the Match String for Address Data

For matching on street address fields, make sure the match string you specify in the MatchingConfig section of mefa.xml contains all or a subset of the fields that contain the standardized data (the original text in street address fields is generally too inconsistent to use for matching). You can include additional fields for matching, such as the city name or postal code.

To configure the match string, follow the instructions under Defining the Master Index Match String in Configuring Sun Master Indexes . For the Master Index Match Engine, each component of a street address has a different match type (specified by the match-type element in the matching configuration file). The default match types for addresses are StreetName, HouseNumber, StreetDir, and StreetType. You can specify any of the other match types defined in the match configuration file, as well. For more information, see Master Index Match Engine Match Types.

A sample match string for address matching is shown below.

<match-system-object>
   <object-name>Person</object-name>
   <match-columns>
      <match-column>
         <column-name>Enterprise.SystemSBR.Person.Address.StreetName
         </column-name>
         <match-type>StreetName</match-type>
      </match-column>
      <match-column>
         <column-name>Enterprise.SystemSBR.Person.Address.HouseNumber
         </column-name>
         <match-type>HouseNumber</match-type>
      </match-column>
      <match-column>
         <column-name>Enterprise.SystemSBR.Person.Address.StreetDir
         </column-name>
         <match-type>StreetDir</match-type>
      </match-column>
      <match-column>
         <column-name>Enterprise.SystemSBR.Person.Address.StreetType
         </column-name>
         <match-type>StreetType</match-type>
   </match-column>
   </match-columns>
</match-system-object>