| Summary: | This updated and revised second edition of the leading reference volume on distance metrics includes a wealth of new material that reflects advances in a field now regarded as an essential tool in many areas of pure and applied mathematics. � The publication of this volume coincides with intensifying research efforts into metric spaces and especially distance design for applications. Accurate metrics have become a crucial goal in computational biology, image analysis, speech recognition and information retrieval. � Leaving aside the practical questions that arise during the selection of a good distance function, this work focuses on providing the research community with an invaluable comprehensive listing of the main available distances. � As well as providing standalone introductions and definitions, the encyclopedia facilitates swift cross-referencing with easily navigable bold-faced textual links to core entries. In addition to distances themselves, the authors have collated numerous fascinating curiosities in their Whos Who of metrics, including distance-related notions and paradigms that enable applied mathematicians in other sectors to deploy research tools that non-specialists justly view as arcane. In expanding access to these techniques, and in many cases enriching the context of distances themselves, this peerless volume is certain to stimulate fresh research.
|
|---|