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A Guide To Hamming Distance

The document discusses Hamming Distance, a metric used to measure the difference between two equal-length strings by counting the positions where the corresponding symbols are different. It is used for error detection and correction when transmitting data, and to determine similarity between datasets. Calculating Hamming Distance is straightforward and efficient, especially for binary data, though it requires strings of equal length and works best for binary comparisons.

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lbadilla1970
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27 views5 pages

A Guide To Hamming Distance

The document discusses Hamming Distance, a metric used to measure the difference between two equal-length strings by counting the positions where the corresponding symbols are different. It is used for error detection and correction when transmitting data, and to determine similarity between datasets. Calculating Hamming Distance is straightforward and efficient, especially for binary data, though it requires strings of equal length and works best for binary comparisons.

Uploaded by

lbadilla1970
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Hamming Distance in

Data Science

Letter 1 2 3 4 5 6
Position

String 1 a b c d e f

String 2 a a a d d d

Equal? Yes No No Yes No No

Hamming Distance: 4
What is Hamming Distance?

Hamming Distance is a metric used to


measure the difference between two strings
of equal length. It calculates the number of
positions at which the corresponding
symbols in the two strings are different.

In the context of data science, especially in


the areas of information theory and coding
theory, it helps determine the error between
transmitted and received bits.
Why use Hamming Distance?
Error Detection and Correction: Hamming
Distance plays a pivotal role in error
detection and correction when
transmitting data over noisy channels.

Similarity Measure: In some cases, it can


be used to determine the similarity
between two data sets or strings. A lower
hamming distance indicates higher
similarity and vice versa.

Feature Selection: In binary feature


selection problems, Hamming Distance
can be an efficient way to measure
similarity.
Advantages of Hamming Distance
Simplicity: Calculating Hamming Distance
is straightforward and computationally
efficient.

Effective for Binary Data: It's particularly


useful for comparing binary sequences.

Disdvantages of Hamming Distance


Equal Length Requirement: It can only be
used for strings (or data sequences) of
equal length.

Limited to Binary Comparisons: Though


used predominantly for binary data,
adapting it for other types can be less
intuitive.
Python Code to Implement
Hamming Distance

This function compares two strings and


returns the number of positions at which the
corresponding characters are different.

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