A Short Survey of Document Structure Similarity Algorithms

This paper provides a brief survey of document structural similarity algorithms, including the optimal Tree Edit Distance algorithm and various approximation algorithms. The approximation algorithms include the simple weighted tag similarity algorithm, Fourier transforms of the structure, and a new application of the shingle technique to structural similarity. We show three surprising results. First, the Fourier transform technique proves to be the least accurate of any of approximation algorithms, while also being slowest. Second, optimal Tree Edit Distance algorithms may not be the best technique for clustering pages from different sites. Third, the simplest approximation to structure may be the most effective and efficient mechanism for many applications.