A method for determining a distance between a first node and a second node that share a root node within a structured program. A first node path between the first node and the root node is determined, and a first node depth is counted. A second node path between the second node and the root node is also determined, and a second node depth is likewise counted. One of the node paths that has a highest count is designated as the deepest path, and the other is designated as the shallowest path. The deepest path is descended to a depth that is equal to that of the shallowest path, and a distance count is increased by one count for each node that was descended on the deepest path to reach a depth that is equal to the shallowest path. Both the deepest path and the shallowest path are descended to the root node, and the distance count is increased by two counts for each node that was descended. The distance count is provided as the distance between the first node and the second node.