Navigating the world of string matching with errors can be daunting. This paper serves as a guide to current techniques for approximate string matching. Focusing on online searching and edit distance, the survey explains the problem, its relevance, and history. Central ideas of algorithms and complexities are explained, and comparisons with other algorithms illustrate which are the best choices. This information is increasingly relevant for fast-growing areas like information retrieval and computational biology. Concluding with directions for future work and open problems, this paper provides a valuable overview for researchers and practitioners in search algorithms.
This paper reviewing approximate string matching is highly appropriate for ACM Computing Surveys, a journal known for providing comprehensive overviews of important computing topics. By summarizing the history, current state, and future directions of this field, the paper serves the journal's purpose of informing the computing community about significant research areas.