The SORTNORMALIZE() function is used to compare two strings for equality or similarities by removing the common characteristics that can cause manually entered strings to differ.
Though the SORTNORMALIZE() function may be useful for other string comparisons, the SORTNORMALIZE() is intended for, and ideal for, address comparisons.
The SORTNORMALIZE() function offers the same functionality as the NORMALIZE() function except that:
| • | once the standard normalizing is complete, SORTNORMALIZE() function sorts the remaining normalized whole words (including number sets), separated by blanks, in descending order |
| • | for example SORTNORMALIZE() turns both "123 Main St. West" and "123 WEST MAIN ST" into "WEST ST MAIN 123" which renders them an exact match. |
Note: Use SORTNORMALIZE() specifically for comparing strings that do not contain spaced abbreviations. For example: given two company name fields, one containing “I B M” and the other containing “IBM”, the normalized result will re-arrange the former as “M I B” while retaining the latter as “IBM, yielding less comparable data. To avoid this situations, use the NORMALIZE() function.
For more detail on using the NORMALIZE() function see NORMALIZE().
SORTNORMALIZE() is particularly useful for use in the DIFFERENCE(), NEAR() or SIMILAR() functions. To better understand using NEAR and SIMILAR options see NEAR() versus SIMILAR() Functions. For more information on the DIFFERENCE() function see DIFFERENCE().