Lingua::Strfname - Formats people's names

  use Lingua::Strfname;

  my $format = "%f% m% l";
  my @names = qw(Clinton William Jefferson Mr. JD);
  my $name = strfname($format, @names);

This module exports one function, strfname():

  strfname($format, $last, $first, $middle, $prefix, $suffix, $generation,
           @extra_names)

The strfname function uses the formatting string passed in $format to format a person's name. The remaining arguments make up the name: last/family name , first/given name, middle/second name, prefix ('Mr.', 'Ms.', 'Dr.', etc.), suffix ('Ph.D., 'MD', etc.), and generation ('III', 'Jr.', etc.). Up to five additional names may also be passed.

The formats are roughly based on the ideas behind sprintf formatting or strftime formatting. Each format is denoted by a percent sign (%) and a single alpha-numeric character. The character represents the data that will be filled in to the string. Any non-alphanumeric characters placed between the % and the conversion character will be included in the string only if the data represented by the conversion character exists.

For example, if I wanted to get a full name, but didn't have a middle name, I would specify a format string like so:

  my $format = "%f% m% l";

In which case, this call

  strfname($format, 'Clinton', 'William');

would yield 'William Clinton'. But this call

  strfname($format, 'Clinton', 'William', 'Jefferson');

would yield 'William Jefferson Clinton'. Similarly, you can add a comma where you need one, but only if you need one:

  strfname("%p% f% M% l% g%, s", 'Clinton', 'William', 'Jefferson', 'Mr.',
           'JD', 'III');

would yield 'Mr. William J. Clinton III, JD', but if there is no suffix (delete 'JD' from the call above), it yeilds 'Mr. William J. Clinton III', leaving off the comma that would preceed the suffix, if it existed.

Here are the supported formats:

  %l Last Name
  %f First Name
  %m Middle Name
  %p Prefix
  %s Suffix
  %g Generation
  %L Last Name Initial with period
  %F First Name Initial with period
  %M Middle Name Initial with period
  %T Last Name Initial
  %S First Name Initial
  %I Middle Name Initial
  %a Extra Name 1
  %b Extra Name 2
  %c Extra Name 3
  %d Extra Name 4
  %e Extra Name 5
  %A Extra Name 1 Initial with period
  %B Extra Name 2 Initial with period
  %C Extra Name 3 Initial with period
  %D Extra Name 4 Initial with period
  %E Extra Name 5 Initial with period
  %1 Extra Name 1 Initial
  %2 Extra Name 2 Initial
  %3 Extra Name 3 Initial
  %4 Extra Name 4 Initial
  %5 Extra Name 5 Initial

This module is stored in an open GitHub repository. Feel free to fork and contribute!

Please file bug reports via GitHub Issues or by sending mail to bug-Lingua-Strfname.cpan.org.

David E. Wheeler <david@justatheory.com>, with implementation assistance from David Lowe.

Copyright (c) 2000-2011, David E. Wheeler. Some Rights Reserved.

This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.