Computer Science
Advanced

Hamming Distance

Number of positions at which two strings differ.

Formula

d(x,y)=∑i[xi≠yi]d(x,y) = \sum_i [x_i \ne y_i]

Variables

x, yEqual-length strings

Example

1011 vs 1001 differ in one bit, so their Hamming distance is 1.

Did You Know?

Hamming distance measures how many bits differ — the basis of error-correcting codes in CDs and deep-space probes.

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