NAME

String::Similarity - calculate the similarity of two strings

SYNOPSIS

use String::Similarity;

$similarity = similarity $string1, $string2;

DESCRIPTION

$factor = similarity $string1, $string2

The similarity-function calulcates the similarity index of its two arguments. A value of 0 means that the strings are entirely different. A value of 1 means the strings are identical. Everything else lies describes the amount of similarity between the strings.

It roughly works by looking at the smallest number of edits to change one string into the other.

SEE ALSO

The basic algorithm is described in:
"An O(ND) Difference Algorithm and its Variations", Eugene Myers,
Algorithmica Vol. 1 No. 2, 1986, pp. 251-266;
see especially section 4.2, which describes the variation used below.

The basic algorithm was independently discovered as described in:
"Algorithms for Approximate String Matching", E. Ukkonen,
Information and Control Vol. 64, 1985, pp. 100-118.

AUTHOR

Marc Lehmann <pcg@goof.com>
http://www.goof.com/pcg/marc/

(the underlying fstrcmp function was written by Peter Miller <pmiller@agso.gov.au>)