Calculating the shortest distance(perpendicular distance) between a point and a line

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Shortest distance between a point and a line segment

Hi, I have a point A, and a Line with two endpoint B,C. I want to know how I can calculate the shortest distance between point A and the line formed within B and C. Pseudo-code is enough. Though, Python is preferred. Thanks

Answer 1

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/849211/shortest-distance-between-a-point-and-a-line-segment

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Point-LineDistance2-Dimensional.html

Answer 2

You have to be careful here. Since we are working with the line segment BC, and not a line through the points B and C, the shortest distance from point A to BC is not necessarily perpendicular to BC, as you suggested in your title.

Anyway, check out this post, also on SO, which has python code example and a little discussion of the point above.