For nonempty compact subsets of a metric space , the Hausdorff distance is
For compact metric spaces , the Gromov-Hausdorff distance is
where and range over isometric embeddings into a common metric space .
The collection of compact real trees is not compact in the Gromov-Hausdorff topology. Indeed, the intervals are compact real trees and
Their diameters are unbounded, so has no convergent subsequence in the Gromov-Hausdorff topology.