LR_CHAR comparison

Compares place information from a data source with geocoding reference files by using a left-right character string comparison.

A single column on the user data file must be matched to the two columns on the reference source on a character-by-character basis.

Census Bureau Tiger files and other geographic reference sources contain a left ZIP code and a right ZIP code, a left city code and a right city code. The left code applies if there was a match to the left address range interval and the right code applies if there was a match to the right address range.

Required Columns

The following data source and reference source columns are required.

  • Data. The column from the data source.
  • Reference. The left field (ZIP code, city, and so on) from the reference source.
  • Reference. The right field (ZIP code, city, and so on) from the reference source.

Required Mode

A mode is required. Choose one of the following modes:

  • EITHER. The contents of the data source column must match either of the reference source columns specified (or both) to receive the full agreement weight.
  • BASED_PREV. Use the result of a previous D_INT comparison to decide which column to compare.

If you specify the EITHER mode, the data source column must match either of the reference source columns to receive an agreement weight. If you specified the BASED_PREV mode, the data source column must match to the first reference source column of a previous D_INT comparison or of a similar double interval comparison in which the data source matched to the left interval, or the data source column must match to the first reference source column of the previous D_INT in which the data source matched to the right interval. If neither the left nor the right interval agrees, the missing weight for the column is assigned.