这个答案是基于公认答案的JavaScript解决方案。 它主要只是格式更好，函数名更长，当然函数语法更短，因为它是在ES6 + CoffeeScript中。

JavaScript版本(ES6)

distanceSquared = (v, w)=> Math.pow(v.x - w.x, 2) + Math.pow(v.y - w.y, 2);
distance = (v, w)=> Math.sqrt(distanceSquared(v, w));

distanceToLineSegmentSquared = (p, v, w)=> {
    l2 = distanceSquared(v, w);
    if (l2 === 0) {
        return distanceSquared(p, v);
    }
    t = ((p.x - v.x) * (w.x - v.x) + (p.y - v.y) * (w.y - v.y)) / l2;
    t = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, t));
    return distanceSquared(p, {
        x: v.x + t * (w.x - v.x),
        y: v.y + t * (w.y - v.y)
    });
}
distanceToLineSegment = (p, v, w)=> {
    return Math.sqrt(distanceToLineSegmentSquared(p, v));
}

CoffeeScript版本

distanceSquared = (v, w)-> (v.x - w.x) ** 2 + (v.y - w.y) ** 2
distance = (v, w)-> Math.sqrt(distanceSquared(v, w))

distanceToLineSegmentSquared = (p, v, w)->
    l2 = distanceSquared(v, w)
    return distanceSquared(p, v) if l2 is 0
    t = ((p.x - v.x) * (w.x - v.x) + (p.y - v.y) * (w.y - v.y)) / l2
    t = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, t))
    distanceSquared(p, {
        x: v.x + t * (w.x - v.x)
        y: v.y + t * (w.y - v.y)
    })

distanceToLineSegment = (p, v, w)->
    Math.sqrt(distanceToLineSegmentSquared(p, v, w))

忍不住用python来编码:)

from math import sqrt, fabs
def pdis(a, b, c):
    t = b[0]-a[0], b[1]-a[1]           # Vector ab
    dd = sqrt(t[0]**2+t[1]**2)         # Length of ab
    t = t[0]/dd, t[1]/dd               # unit vector of ab
    n = -t[1], t[0]                    # normal unit vector to ab
    ac = c[0]-a[0], c[1]-a[1]          # vector ac
    return fabs(ac[0]*n[0]+ac[1]*n[1]) # Projection of ac to n (the minimum distance)

print pdis((1,1), (2,2), (2,0))        # Example (answer is 1.414)

fortran也是一样:)

real function pdis(a, b, c)
    real, dimension(0:1), intent(in) :: a, b, c
    real, dimension(0:1) :: t, n, ac
    real :: dd
    t = b - a                          ! Vector ab
    dd = sqrt(t(0)**2+t(1)**2)         ! Length of ab
    t = t/dd                           ! unit vector of ab
    n = (/-t(1), t(0)/)                ! normal unit vector to ab
    ac = c - a                         ! vector ac
    pdis = abs(ac(0)*n(0)+ac(1)*n(1))  ! Projection of ac to n (the minimum distance)
end function pdis


program test
    print *, pdis((/1.0,1.0/), (/2.0,2.0/), (/2.0,0.0/))   ! Example (answer is 1.414)
end program test

嘿，我昨天才写的。它在Actionscript 3.0中，基本上是Javascript，尽管你可能没有相同的Point类。

//st = start of line segment
//b = the line segment (as in: st + b = end of line segment)
//pt = point to test
//Returns distance from point to line segment.  
//Note: nearest point on the segment to the test point is right there if we ever need it
public static function linePointDist( st:Point, b:Point, pt:Point ):Number
{
    var nearestPt:Point; //closest point on seqment to pt

    var keyDot:Number = dot( b, pt.subtract( st ) ); //key dot product
    var bLenSq:Number = dot( b, b ); //Segment length squared

    if( keyDot <= 0 )  //pt is "behind" st, use st
    {
        nearestPt = st  
    }
    else if( keyDot >= bLenSq ) //pt is "past" end of segment, use end (notice we are saving twin sqrts here cuz)
    {
        nearestPt = st.add(b);
    }
    else //pt is inside segment, reuse keyDot and bLenSq to get percent of seqment to move in to find closest point
    {
        var keyDotToPctOfB:Number = keyDot/bLenSq; //REM dot product comes squared
        var partOfB:Point = new Point( b.x * keyDotToPctOfB, b.y * keyDotToPctOfB );
        nearestPt = st.add(partOfB);
    }

    var dist:Number = (pt.subtract(nearestPt)).length;

    return dist;
}

此外，这里有一个关于这个问题的相当完整和可读的讨论:notejot.com

一个2D和3D的解决方案

考虑基底的变化，使得线段变成(0,0,0)-(d, 0,0)和点(u, v, 0)。在这个平面上，最短的距离由

    u ≤ 0 -> d(A, C)
0 ≤ u ≤ d -> |v|
d ≤ u     -> d(B, C)

(到其中一个端点或到支撑线的距离，取决于到该线的投影。等距轨迹由两个半圆和两条线段组成。)

式中，d为AB线段的长度，u、v分别为AB/d (AB方向的单位矢量)与AC的标量积和外积的模量。

AB.AC ≤ 0             -> |AC|
    0 ≤ AB.AC ≤ AB²   -> |ABxAC|/|AB|
          AB² ≤ AB.AC -> |BC|

看起来几乎每个人都在StackOverflow上贡献了一个答案(目前为止有23个答案)，所以这里是我对c#的贡献。这主要是基于M. Katz的回答，而Katz的回答又基于Grumdrig的回答。

   public struct MyVector
   {
      private readonly double _x, _y;


      // Constructor
      public MyVector(double x, double y)
      {
         _x = x;
         _y = y;
      }


      // Distance from this point to another point, squared
      private double DistanceSquared(MyVector otherPoint)
      {
         double dx = otherPoint._x - this._x;
         double dy = otherPoint._y - this._y;
         return dx * dx + dy * dy;
      }


      // Find the distance from this point to a line segment (which is not the same as from this 
      //  point to anywhere on an infinite line). Also returns the closest point.
      public double DistanceToLineSegment(MyVector lineSegmentPoint1, MyVector lineSegmentPoint2,
                                          out MyVector closestPoint)
      {
         return Math.Sqrt(DistanceToLineSegmentSquared(lineSegmentPoint1, lineSegmentPoint2, 
                          out closestPoint));
      }


      // Same as above, but avoid using Sqrt(), saves a new nanoseconds in cases where you only want 
      //  to compare several distances to find the smallest or largest, but don't need the distance
      public double DistanceToLineSegmentSquared(MyVector lineSegmentPoint1, 
                                              MyVector lineSegmentPoint2, out MyVector closestPoint)
      {
         // Compute length of line segment (squared) and handle special case of coincident points
         double segmentLengthSquared = lineSegmentPoint1.DistanceSquared(lineSegmentPoint2);
         if (segmentLengthSquared < 1E-7f)  // Arbitrary "close enough for government work" value
         {
            closestPoint = lineSegmentPoint1;
            return this.DistanceSquared(closestPoint);
         }

         // Use the magic formula to compute the "projection" of this point on the infinite line
         MyVector lineSegment = lineSegmentPoint2 - lineSegmentPoint1;
         double t = (this - lineSegmentPoint1).DotProduct(lineSegment) / segmentLengthSquared;

         // Handle the two cases where the projection is not on the line segment, and the case where 
         //  the projection is on the segment
         if (t <= 0)
            closestPoint = lineSegmentPoint1;
         else if (t >= 1)
            closestPoint = lineSegmentPoint2;
         else 
            closestPoint = lineSegmentPoint1 + (lineSegment * t);
         return this.DistanceSquared(closestPoint);
      }


      public double DotProduct(MyVector otherVector)
      {
         return this._x * otherVector._x + this._y * otherVector._y;
      }

      public static MyVector operator +(MyVector leftVector, MyVector rightVector)
      {
         return new MyVector(leftVector._x + rightVector._x, leftVector._y + rightVector._y);
      }

      public static MyVector operator -(MyVector leftVector, MyVector rightVector)
      {
         return new MyVector(leftVector._x - rightVector._x, leftVector._y - rightVector._y);
      }

      public static MyVector operator *(MyVector aVector, double aScalar)
      {
         return new MyVector(aVector._x * aScalar, aVector._y * aScalar);
      }

      // Added using ReSharper due to CodeAnalysis nagging

      public bool Equals(MyVector other)
      {
         return _x.Equals(other._x) && _y.Equals(other._y);
      }

      public override bool Equals(object obj)
      {
         if (ReferenceEquals(null, obj)) return false;
         return obj is MyVector && Equals((MyVector) obj);
      }

      public override int GetHashCode()
      {
         unchecked
         {
            return (_x.GetHashCode()*397) ^ _y.GetHashCode();
         }
      }

      public static bool operator ==(MyVector left, MyVector right)
      {
         return left.Equals(right);
      }

      public static bool operator !=(MyVector left, MyVector right)
      {
         return !left.Equals(right);
      }
   }

这是一个小测试程序。

   public static class JustTesting
   {
      public static void Main()
      {
         Stopwatch stopwatch = new Stopwatch();
         stopwatch.Start();

         for (int i = 0; i < 10000000; i++)
         {
            TestIt(1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0.70710678118654757);
            TestIt(5, 4, 0, 0, 20, 10, 1.3416407864998738);
            TestIt(30, 15, 0, 0, 20, 10, 11.180339887498949);
            TestIt(-30, 15, 0, 0, 20, 10, 33.541019662496844);
            TestIt(5, 1, 0, 0, 10, 0, 1.0);
            TestIt(1, 5, 0, 0, 0, 10, 1.0);
         }

         stopwatch.Stop();
         TimeSpan timeSpan = stopwatch.Elapsed;
      }


      private static void TestIt(float aPointX, float aPointY, 
                                 float lineSegmentPoint1X, float lineSegmentPoint1Y, 
                                 float lineSegmentPoint2X, float lineSegmentPoint2Y, 
                                 double expectedAnswer)
      {
         // Katz
         double d1 = DistanceFromPointToLineSegment(new MyVector(aPointX, aPointY), 
                                              new MyVector(lineSegmentPoint1X, lineSegmentPoint1Y), 
                                              new MyVector(lineSegmentPoint2X, lineSegmentPoint2Y));
         Debug.Assert(d1 == expectedAnswer);

         /*
         // Katz using squared distance
         double d2 = DistanceFromPointToLineSegmentSquared(new MyVector(aPointX, aPointY), 
                                              new MyVector(lineSegmentPoint1X, lineSegmentPoint1Y), 
                                              new MyVector(lineSegmentPoint2X, lineSegmentPoint2Y));
         Debug.Assert(Math.Abs(d2 - expectedAnswer * expectedAnswer) < 1E-7f);
          */

         /*
         // Matti (optimized)
         double d3 = FloatVector.DistanceToLineSegment(new PointF(aPointX, aPointY), 
                                                new PointF(lineSegmentPoint1X, lineSegmentPoint1Y), 
                                                new PointF(lineSegmentPoint2X, lineSegmentPoint2Y));
         Debug.Assert(Math.Abs(d3 - expectedAnswer) < 1E-7f);
          */
      }

      private static double DistanceFromPointToLineSegment(MyVector aPoint, 
                                             MyVector lineSegmentPoint1, MyVector lineSegmentPoint2)
      {
         MyVector closestPoint;  // Not used
         return aPoint.DistanceToLineSegment(lineSegmentPoint1, lineSegmentPoint2, 
                                             out closestPoint);
      }

      private static double DistanceFromPointToLineSegmentSquared(MyVector aPoint, 
                                             MyVector lineSegmentPoint1, MyVector lineSegmentPoint2)
      {
         MyVector closestPoint;  // Not used
         return aPoint.DistanceToLineSegmentSquared(lineSegmentPoint1, lineSegmentPoint2, 
                                                    out closestPoint);
      }
   }

如您所见，我试图衡量使用避免Sqrt()方法的版本与使用普通版本之间的差异。我的测试表明你可能可以节省2.5%，但我甚至不确定——各种测试运行中的变化是相同的数量级。我还试着测量了Matti发布的版本(加上一个明显的优化)，该版本似乎比基于Katz/Grumdrig代码的版本慢了大约4%。

编辑:顺便说一句，我还尝试过测量一种方法，该方法使用叉乘(和平方根())来查找到无限直线(不是线段)的距离，它大约快32%。

以下是Grumdrig解决方案的一个更完整的说明。这个版本还返回最近的点本身。

#include "stdio.h"
#include "math.h"

class Vec2
{
public:
    float _x;
    float _y;

    Vec2()
    {
        _x = 0;
        _y = 0;
    }

    Vec2( const float x, const float y )
    {
        _x = x;
        _y = y;
    }

    Vec2 operator+( const Vec2 &v ) const
    {
        return Vec2( this->_x + v._x, this->_y + v._y );
    }

    Vec2 operator-( const Vec2 &v ) const
    {
        return Vec2( this->_x - v._x, this->_y - v._y );
    }

    Vec2 operator*( const float f ) const
    {
        return Vec2( this->_x * f, this->_y * f );
    }

    float DistanceToSquared( const Vec2 p ) const
    {
        const float dX = p._x - this->_x;
        const float dY = p._y - this->_y;

        return dX * dX + dY * dY;
    }

    float DistanceTo( const Vec2 p ) const
    {
        return sqrt( this->DistanceToSquared( p ) );
    }

    float DotProduct( const Vec2 p ) const
    {
        return this->_x * p._x + this->_y * p._y;
    }
};

// return minimum distance between line segment vw and point p, and the closest point on the line segment, q
float DistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( const Vec2 v, const Vec2 w, const Vec2 p, Vec2 * const q )
{
    const float distSq = v.DistanceToSquared( w ); // i.e. |w-v|^2 ... avoid a sqrt
    if ( distSq == 0.0 )
    {
        // v == w case
        (*q) = v;

        return v.DistanceTo( p );
    }

    // consider the line extending the segment, parameterized as v + t (w - v)
    // we find projection of point p onto the line
    // it falls where t = [(p-v) . (w-v)] / |w-v|^2

    const float t = ( p - v ).DotProduct( w - v ) / distSq;
    if ( t < 0.0 )
    {
        // beyond the v end of the segment
        (*q) = v;

        return v.DistanceTo( p );
    }
    else if ( t > 1.0 )
    {
        // beyond the w end of the segment
        (*q) = w;

        return w.DistanceTo( p );
    }

    // projection falls on the segment
    const Vec2 projection = v + ( ( w - v ) * t );

    (*q) = projection;

    return p.DistanceTo( projection );
}

float DistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( float segmentX1, float segmentY1, float segmentX2, float segmentY2, float pX, float pY, float *qX, float *qY )
{
    Vec2 q;

    float distance = DistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( Vec2( segmentX1, segmentY1 ), Vec2( segmentX2, segmentY2 ), Vec2( pX, pY ), &q );

    (*qX) = q._x;
    (*qY) = q._y;

    return distance;
}

void TestDistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( float segmentX1, float segmentY1, float segmentX2, float segmentY2, float pX, float pY )
{
    float qX;
    float qY;
    float d = DistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( segmentX1, segmentY1, segmentX2, segmentY2, pX, pY, &qX, &qY );
    printf( "line segment = ( ( %f, %f ), ( %f, %f ) ), p = ( %f, %f ), distance = %f, q = ( %f, %f )\n",
            segmentX1, segmentY1, segmentX2, segmentY2, pX, pY, d, qX, qY );
}

void TestDistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint()
{
    TestDistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0 );
    TestDistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( 0, 0, 20, 10, 5, 4 );
    TestDistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( 0, 0, 20, 10, 30, 15 );
    TestDistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( 0, 0, 20, 10, -30, 15 );
    TestDistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( 0, 0, 10, 0, 5, 1 );
    TestDistanceFromLineSegmentToPoint( 0, 0, 0, 10, 1, 5 );
}