Oracle Spatial User's Guide and Reference - InfoLab

5.1.2 Match Modes
Concepts for Geocoding
The match mode for a geocoding operation determines how closely the attributes of
an input address must match the data being used for the geocoding. Input
addresses can include different ways of representing the same thing (such as Street
and the abbreviation St), and they can include minor errors (such as the wrong
postal code, even though the street address and city are correct and the street
address is unique within the city).
You can require an exact match between the input address and the data used for
geocoding, or you can relax the requirements for some attributes so that geocoding
can be performed despite certain discrepancies or errors in the input addresses.
Table 5–2 lists the match modes and their meanings. Use a value from this table
with the match_mode attribute of the SDO_GEO_ADDR data type (described in
Section 5.2.1) and for the match_mode parameter of a geocoding function or
procedure.
Table 5–2 Match Modes for Geocoding Operations
Match Mode Description
EXACT All attributes of the input address must match the data used for
geocoding. However, if the house or building number, base
name (street name), street type, street prefix, and street suffix do
not all match the geocoding data, a location in the first match
found in the following is returned: postal code, city or town
(settlement) within the state, and state. For example, if the street
name is incorrect but a valid postal code is specified, a location
in the postal code is returned.
RELAX_STREET_TYPE The street type can be different from the data used for
geocoding. For example, if Main St is in the data used for
geocoding, Main Street would also match that, as would Main
Blvd if there was no Main Blvd and no other street type named
Main in the relevant area.
RELAX_POI_NAME The name of the point of interest does not have to match the
data used for geocoding. For example, if Jones State Park is in the
data used for geocoding, Jones State Pk and Jones Park would also
match as long as there were no ambiguities or other matches in
the data.
RELAX_HOUSE_
NUMBER
The house or building number and street type can be different
from the data used for geocoding. For example, if 123 Main St is
in the data used for geocoding, 123 Main Lane and 124 Main St
would also match as long as there were no ambiguities or other
matches in the data.
Geocoding Address Data 5-3