{disambiguate=mathematics}
{title2=$d(x, y)$}
{wiki}

= Distance
{synonym}

= Metric
{synonym}

A metric is a function that give the distance, i.e. a <real number>, between any two elements of a space.

A metric may be induced from a <norm> as shown at: <metric induced by a norm>{full}.

Because a <norm induced by an inner product>[norm can be induced by an inner product], and the <inner product> given by the <matrix representation of a positive definite symmetric bilinear form>, in simple cases metrics can also be represented by a <matrix>.
