stringCompare.java

  /**
  * This should spit out a percentage of how close two strings are.
  */
  public static Double stringCompare(String a, String b) {    
    if (a == null || b == null) {      
      return 0.0;
    }
    
    //Same string, no iteration needed.
    if (a.equals(b)) {
      return 100.0;
    }
    
    //One is empty, second is not
    if ((a.length() == 0) || (b.length() == 0)) {
      return 0.0;
    }

    double maxLen = a.length() > b.length() ? a.length() : b.length();
    int minLen = a.length() < b.length() ? a.length() : b.length();
    int sameCharAtIndex = 0;
    //Compare char by char
    for (int i = 0; i < minLen; i++) {
      String aChar = String.valueOf(a.charAt(i));
      String bChar = String.valueOf(b.charAt(i));
      if (aChar.equals(bChar)) {
        sameCharAtIndex++;
      }
    }
    return sameCharAtIndex / maxLen * 100;
  }