> I know that this problem has been solved as an algorithm, because the > web searches I've done have indicated that. However, the only two > links to the actual algorithms that I've found are both broken.
Yes, these algorithms calculate "Editing distance" and well known since late 60s. Most of them use dynamic programming approach. However, they consume a lot of time (average compexity O(n^2)) and space. They are heavy even for C. So forget about Java and ColdFusion, especially if you want to do this often and on large texts. This was "bad news". "Good news" is that there are "approximate" much faster, less expensive, but less precise algorithms. This may fit your needs. Here the one of them: http://siderite.blogspot.com/2007/01/super-fast-string-distance-algorithm.html These guys are in "Largest Common Subsequence" department. If you just want to know that "a lot of text was changed", but really do not care "what exactly was changed", you should look for LCS algorithms. Let me know, if you need a CFX tag for this ($$). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Create Web Applications With ColdFusion MX7 & Flex 2. Build powerful, scalable RIAs. Free Trial http://www.adobe.com/products/coldfusion/flex2/ Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/message.cfm/messageid:271938 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.4
