String Rearrangement Metrics: A Survey

Abstract

A basic assumption in traditional pattern matching is that the order of the elements in the given input strings is correct, while the description of the content, i.e. the description of the elements, may be erroneous. Motivated by questions that arise in Text Editing, Computational Biology, Bit Torrent and Video on Demand, and Computer Architecture, a new pattern matching paradigm was recently proposed by [2]. In this model, the pattern content remains intact, but the relative positions may change. Several papers followed the initial definition of the new paradigm. Each paper revealed new aspects in the world of string rearrangement metrics. This new unified view has already proven itself by enabling the solution of an open problem of the mathematician Cayley from 1849. It also gave better insight to problems that were already studied in different and limited situations, such as the behavior of different cost functions, and enabled deriving results for cost functions that were not yet sufficiently analyzed by previous research. At this stage, a general understanding of this new model is beginning to coalesce. The aim of this survey is to present an overview of this recent new direction of research, the problems, the methodologies, and the state-of-the-art.