0034 - Full Name
Description:
Combine various name elements into a full name.
Combine various name elements into a full name.
"" IF ANSWERED( Prefix ) "«Prefix» " END IF RESULT + "«FirstName»" IF ANSWERED( MiddleName ) RESULT + " «MiddleName»" END IF RESULT + " «LastName»" IF ANSWERED( Suffix ) RESULT + ", «Suffix»" END IF
All name elements are text variables. It is assumed that every person will have at least a first and a last name. The other name elements are optional, and are included in the output only if answered: Prefix (Dr., Mr., Ms., etc.), MiddleName, and Suffix (Jr., Sr., II, III, Esq., M.D., etc.). The Suffix could optionally be made into a multiple choice variable. If so, be sure to allow an "Other" option.
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A Note on Suffixes
by Kevin Cassidy
Usage guides generally state that suffixes such as "II," "III," "IV" and sometimes even "Jr." should not be preceded by a comma (e.g., "John Q. White III"). The primary function of these suffixes is to distinguish between persons having the same name and as a result they are restrictive. In real life, however, the correct usage is simply the preference of the individual being named.
People now precede "Jr." with a comma frequently enough that some guides (The Chicago Manual of Style 13th ed., for instance) advocate this usage as the rule, while maintaining that no comma should precede roman numeral suffixes. In my own experience, I've found this split usage to hold true, with the rare comma preceding a roman numeral suffix (and once a "3rd").
Of course, taking this into consideration at all would make a relatively simple computation much more complicated. One imperfect solution would require an assumption that no one would have a roman numeral suffix higher than, say, "X." Whether you consider this at all would probably depend on the context in which the name is to be used and what you can be comfortable with.