distance = function distance(a, b){
if(a.length == 0) return b.length;
if(b.length == 0) return a.length;
var matrix = [];
var i;
for(i = 0; i <= b.length; i++){
matrix[i] = [i];
}
var j;
for(j = 0; j <= a.length; j++){
matrix[0][j] = j;
}
for(i = 1; i <= b.length; i++){
for(j = 1; j <= a.length; j++){
if(b.charAt(i-1) == a.charAt(j-1)){
matrix[i][j] = matrix[i-1][j-1];
} else {
matrix[i][j] = Math.min(matrix[i-1][j-1] + 1,
Math.min(matrix[i][j-1] + 1,
matrix[i-1][j] + 1));
}
}
}
return matrix[b.length][a.length];
}