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Component Combinations

Every matchcode is composed of one or more possible combinations of components. These represent different possible situations in which this matchcode will detect a match between two records. A match found using any one of the combinations in a matchcode is considered a match. Programmers may think in terms of a series of OR conditions. Satisfying any one of them is considered a positive result.

MatchUp allows up to 16 different combinations of components per matchcode.

A good example of combinations would be a matchcode designed to catch last names as well as either street addresses or post office box addresses.

• Condition #1

ZIP/PC, Last Name, Street Number, Street Name

• Condition #2

ZIP/PC, Last Name, PO Box

Such a matchcode might look like this:

Component	Size	1	2
ZIP/PC	5	X	X
Last Name	5	X	X
Street #	4	X
Street Name	4	X
PO Box	10		X

Columns 3 through 16 have been omitted for the sake of clarity.

The trick to understanding this table is to look at the vertical columns of X’s.

For example, looking at column 1, there are X’s in ZIP/PC, Last Name, Street #, and Street Name, indicating the goal of condition #1 exactly. In column 2 are X’s in ZIP/PC, Last Name, and PO Box, matching condition #2.

For a more advanced example:

Component	Size	1	2	3	4
ZIP/PC	5	X	X	X	X
Last Name	5	X	X
Company	10			X	X
Street #	4	X		X
Street Name	4	X		X
PO Box	10		X		X

This matchcode produced matches under the following 4 conditions:

• Condition #1

ZIP/PC, Last Name, Street Number, Street Name

• Condition #2

ZIP/PC, Last Name, PO Box

• Condition #3

ZIP/PC, Company, Street Number, Street Name

• Condition #4

ZIP/PC, Company, PO Box

This matchcode could be used on a mailing list containing a mixture of both personal and company names and either street or PO Box™ addresses.

First Component Restrictions

The first component in any matchcode is special. This is the component that is used for clustering records, an essential element in efficient deduping. Thus, this component has certain restrictions placed on it. The Matchcode Editor enforces these restrictions automatically.

1. It must appear in every combination.
2. It cannot use the following types of Fuzzy matching: Containment; Frequency; Fast Near; Frequency Near; Accurate Near. All others are allowed.
3. It cannot use Initial Only matching.
4. It cannot use One Blank Field matching.
5. It cannot use Swap Matching.

Blank Field Matching

This needs a special discussion, as its importance is often overlooked. If this property is on, then the absence of data in both records would indicate a match. If this property is off, then two records with missing data, but matching in every other way, will not match. It would be reasonable to wonder if you would not want this behavior. However, it is undesirable in certain situations.

Take the following matchcode (paying attention to the Blank column):

Component	Size	Blank	1	2
ZIP/PC	5	Yes	X	X
Last Name	5	Yes	X	X
Street #	4	Yes	X
Street Name	4	Yes	X
PO Box	10	Yes		X

As described above, this produces the following combinations:

• Condition #1

ZIP/PC, Last Name, Street Number, Street Name

• Condition #2

ZIP/PC, Last Name, PO Box

For this example, take the following records:

Name:	Joe Smith	Suzi Smith
Address:	326 Main Street	405 Main St
City/State/PC:	Pembroke MA 02066	Pembroke, MA 02066

The following matchcode keys would be generated:

Cond#	ZIP/PC	Last Name	Street #	Street Name	PO Box
1	02066	SMITH	326	MAIN
2	02066	SMITH	405	MAIN

According to these matchcode keys, it is clear that these two records do not satisfy condition #1. But because blank field matching is selected, they do satisfy condition #2. The Zip/PC, Last Name, and PO Box are exactly the same. Therefore, the two records do match.

Obviously, this is not the correct result. Making one change to the matchcode:

Component	Size	Blank	1	2
ZIP/PC	5	Yes	X	X
Last Name	5	Yes	X	X
Street #	4	Yes	X
Street Name	4	Yes	X
PO Box	10	No		X

The same comparison is done for combination #2, but the match is disallowed this time because the matchcode now indicates that missing (blank) information is not allowed to figure in the matching condition.

Looking at another example (using the same matchcode):

Name:	Joe Smith	Suzi Smith
Address:	PO Box 123	PO Box 456
City/State/PC:	Pembroke MA 02066	Pembroke, MA 02066

This pairing produces the following matchcode keys:

Cond#	ZIP/PC	Last Name	Street #	Street Name	PO Box
1	02066	SMITH			123
2	02066	SMITH			456

This record has the same problem as before, but this time combination #1 is the cause.

An even better matchcode would be:

Component	Size	Blank	1	2
ZIP/PC	5	Yes	X	X
Last Name	5	Yes	X	X
Street #	4	No	X
Street Name	4	No	X
PO Box	10	No		X

This is one matchcode that works well. There is one more possible tweak, however: Turn on Both Blank Fields for the Street # component. Occasionally, MatchUP Object may encounter records such as:

Name:	Joe Notarangello	Suzi Notarangello
Address:	Oceanfront Estates	Oceanfront Est.
City/State/PC:	Pembroke, MA 02066	Pembroke, MA 02066

This reflects a trend in up-scale neighborhoods, where neither street address has a Street # component, though it is very likely these records should match.

So this new improved matchcode will account for these situations:

Component	Size	Blank	1	2
ZIP/PC	5	Yes	X	X
Last Name	5	Yes	X	X
Street #	4	Yes	X
Street Name	4	No	X
PO Box	10	No		X

Matchcode Mapping

Matchcodes deal with the abstract. The components in a matchcode represent specific types of data, but they aren't directly linked to the fields in databases. Mapping creates the link between the data and the matchcode.

For example, take the following matchcode:

Component	Size	Fuzzy	1
ZIP5	5	No	X
Last Name	5	No	X
First Name	5	No	X
Company	10	No	X

Add a database that contains the following fields:

NAME

Contains full names ("Mr. John Smith").

COMPANY

Contains company names ("Melissa Data").

ADD1

Contains first (primary) address line ("22382 Avenida Empresa").

ADD2

Contains second (secondary) address line ("Suite 34").

CSZ

Contains City/State/Zip ("Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688").

An application must create a link between a database's fields (Name, Company, Add1, Add2 and CSZ) and the matchcode components (Zip5, Last Name, First Name, Company).

With the example above, it may appear that the application will have to contain extensive splitting routines. This is not the case. All that is necessary is to tell MatchUp what type of data is in a specific field and the format of that data.

In the example above, an application would use the following matchcode mapping:

Component Database Field Matchcode Mapping
ZIP5 CSZ CityStZip
Last Name NAME FullName
First Name NAME FullName
Company COMPANY Company

This mapping tells MatchUP that the 5-digit ZIP Code information is in a field named "CSZ" which is described as a field containing city, state, and ZIP Code information. The Last Name can be found in a field called "NAME" and is described as a full name field (which is a full name sequenced: Pre, FN, MN, LN, Suf).

Matchcode Mapping Rules

Matchcode mappings follow five rules:

1. For every Matchcode Component, the application must specify a mapping. The only exception is described in rule 2.
2. Actual Address components names (such as Street Number, Street Pre-Directional, Street Name, Street Suffix, Street Post-Directional, PO Box, and Street Secondary) are not listed for mapping purposes. Instead, the names Address Line 1, Address Line 2, and Address Line 3 are used. The example below used four address components in the matchcode (Street #, Street Name, Street Secondary, PO Box). However, it only used two address lines.
3. If a matchcode uses any address components, Address Lines 1-3 will be listed after all other components regardless of where the address component appears in the matchcode. In the following example, the address components are listed before company in the matchcode, but Address Lines 1-2 are listed at the end (after company).
4. If a matchcode uses address components, Address Lines 1-3 will require at least one line to be mapped, but not all. If a database only has one address field, an application will only need to map Address 1 to that field. All other components must be mapped.
5. Address Lines should be mapped from the top down (Address Line1, then 2, then 3).

Enhancing the matchcode in the previous example:

Component Size Fuzzy 1 2

ZIP5 5 No X

Last Name 5 No X

First Name 5 No X

Street # 5 No X

Street Name 5 No X

Street Secondary 12 No X

PO Box 10 No X

Company 10 No X X

Again, MatchUP doesn't use the individual address components. They are replaced with Address 1, Address 2, and Address 3. So, the application would use the following Matchcode Mapping:

Matchcode Component Database Field Matchcode Mapping

ZIP9 CSZ CityStZip

Last Name NAME FullName

First Name NAME FullName

Company COMPANY Company

Address Line 1 ADD1 Address

Address Line 2 ADD2 Address

Address Line 3 (none)

Note on Rule #1

If a database does not contain a field for information called for by a component in a matchcode, such as company field in the above example, then that matchcode should not be used to dedupe that database. Use a different matchcode or modify an existing matchcode, as outlined later in this chapter. However, if a matchcode calls for last name, for example, and the database only has full name, then simply map the full name field to the last name and MatchUP Object will handle parsing the field.