Re. the other methods:
For moderate voltage differences, a simple "differential amplifier" circuit can be used; just an opamp and two pairs of matched resistors, in essence.
That type of setup is used in many applications; it measures the difference across two points and translates it to a voltage between the opamp output and whatever is chosen as the local (input side) 0V or ground reference.
More info:
**broken link removed**
With all four resistors equal (eg. all 10K) you get a 1:1 ratio between input and output, with an input offset range of around twice the opamp common mode range. eg. With +/- 15V supplies and a rail-to-rail opamp, the inputs would need to stay within a +/- 30V range for the circuit to work.
Using higher value input resistors increases the voltage range but decreases the gain.
Many analog-input machine tool or robotics servo drives use a differential amp at the input to avoid ground noise problems in a high-current system.