1.3.11.40 Strip Numbers

The Strip Numbers processor provides a quick way to remove all numbers from text attributes.

Strip Numbers is normally used when preparing data for matching (or as a match transformation within a match processor). For any textual data where numbers are found in the data, but are known to be extraneous, it is convenient to strip them before matching.

For example, when matching product descriptions, some descriptions may contain extraneous serial numbers. These may be stripped out so that the user can work with the text descriptions only.

An alternative use is to find any instances of non-numeric strings or characters in text attributes where you expect mostly numbers (such as telephone numbers). This can be useful when parsing or standardizing data.

The following table describes the configuration options:

Configuration	Description
Inputs	Specify any String or String Array type attributes from which you want to strip numbers. Number and Date attributes are not valid inputs. Note that if you input an Array attribute, the transformation will apply to all array elements, and an Array attribute will be output.
Options	None.
Outputs	Describes any data attribute or flag attribute outputs.
Data Attributes	The following data attributes are output: StrippedNumbers: a new attribute, derived from the original attribute value, with all numbers stripped.
Flags	None.

The Strip Numbers transformer presents no summary statistics on its processing.

In the Data view, each input attribute is shown with its new derived attribute with numbers stripped to the right.

Output Filters

None.

Example

In this example, all numbers are stripped from an attribute containing telephone numbers. This then reveals that the data contains a variety of ways of indicating additional information about the telephone number, which may need to standardized and used to set a flag in a new attribute, for example to indicate numbers that are ex-directory:

PhoneNumber	PhoneNumber.StrippedNumbers (desc)
01240 904346(w)	(w)
043408 37440(landlord'sno)	(landlord'sno)
01266 310270(ex directory)	(ex directory)
01266 317153(ex directory)	(ex directory)
01266 371080(ex directory)	(ex directory)
01918441231 (H)	(H)