![SIGN function [Numeric]](arrow-left.gif){kind=icon}
![SIN function [Numeric]](arrow-right.gif){kind=icon}
Returns an integer between 0 and 100 representing the similarity between two strings.
SIMILAR ( string-expression1, string-expression2 )
string-expression1 The first string to be compared.
string-expression2 The second string to be compared.
The following statement returns the value 75:
SELECT SIMILAR( 'toast', 'coast' ) FROM iq_dummy
This signifies that the two values are 75% similar.
The function returns an integer between 0 and 100 representing the similarity between the two strings. The result can be interpreted as the percentage of characters matched between the two strings. A value of 100 indicates that the two strings are identical.
This function can be used to correct a list of names (such as customers). Some customers might have been added to the list more than once with slightly different names. Join the table to itself and produce a report of all similarities greater than 90 percent but less than 100 percent.
