PLATO and Approximate String Matching

2022-07-24

In 1986, a survey of approximate string matching algorithms found the algorithm used in the PLATO computer-aided instruction system was third place in quality (F1 score) and was an order of magnitude faster than the best performing algorithms. The PLATO algorithm used an unusual dimensional projection approach, while the competing algorithms of the day used edit distances or phonetics. However, this approach failed to catch on and the design is rarely mentioned in the literature. This video describes how the algorithm worked and some reasons why it became forgotten.