Absolute Difference

Absolute value turns a signed difference into a distance from a target.

absolute_difference.cpp

#include <cstdlib>
#include <iostream>

int main() {
    int measured = ;

    int target = 5;
    int delta = measured - target;
    int distance = std::abs(delta);

    std::cout << "measured=" << measured << std::endl;
    std::cout << "delta=" << delta << std::endl;
    std::cout << "distance=" << distance << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

#include <cstdlib>
#include <iostream>

int main() {
    int measured = ;

    int target = 5;
    int delta = measured - target;
    int distance = std::abs(delta);

    std::cout << "measured=" << measured << std::endl;
    std::cout << "delta=" << delta << std::endl;
    std::cout << "distance=" << distance << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

#include <cstdlib>
#include <iostream>

int main() {
    int measured = ;

    int target = 5;
    int delta = measured - target;
    int distance = std::abs(delta);

    std::cout << "measured=" << measured << std::endl;
    std::cout << "delta=" << delta << std::endl;
    std::cout << "distance=" << distance << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

abs `std::abs` returns the magnitude of a number without its sign.

difference Subtracting two values gives a signed difference; applying absolute value gives distance.