By Martin Richard, Software Analyst, Québec, Canada

Download the script.

Code Sample

Search Engines normally require users to know the exact syntax of a keyword to search their databases. This usually translate to fewer or no results if the user makes a minor mistake on the keyword searched.

This package contains a set of classes to augment the SearchAttributesTask with phonetic algorithms and string metrics. By replacing the current SearchAttributesTask with EditDistanceSearchAttributesTask or FrenchSoundexSearchAttributesTask, a query with no match will now suggest possibles alternatives if a near-match is found. For example: instead of the 'no results found' response, a search for 'Ney York' on a state feature class would be: 'Did you mean: New York', thus enabling the user to search for the correct keyword and save time.

The code in this package is fully documented and implementing a new SoundexEngine is possible with minimal effort. I sincerely hope that you find it usefull.

Please read install.doc and the default readme.txt for installation instructions.