Managing code clones using dynamic change tracking and resolution

Code cloning is widely recognized as a threat to the maintainability of source code. As such, many clone detection and removal strategies have been proposed. However, some clones can often not be removed easily so other strategies, based on clone management need to be developed. In this paper we des...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2009 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance pp. 169 - 178
Main Authors de Wit, M., Zaidman, A., van Deursen, A.
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 01.09.2009
Subjects
Cloning
Computer bugs
Monitoring
Software maintenance
Software performance
Software tools
Technology management
Usability
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Summary:Code cloning is widely recognized as a threat to the maintainability of source code. As such, many clone detection and removal strategies have been proposed. However, some clones can often not be removed easily so other strategies, based on clone management need to be developed. In this paper we describe a clone management strategy based on dynamically inferring clone relations by monitoring clipboard activity. We introduce CLONEBOARD, our Eclipse plug-in implementation that is able to track live changes to clones and offers several resolution strategies for inconsistently modified clones. We perform a user study with seven subjects to assess the adequacy, usability and effectiveness of CLONEBOARD, the results of which show that developers actually see the added value of such a tool but have strict requirements with respect to its usability.
ISBN:1424448972
9781424448975
ISSN:1063-6773
DOI:10.1109/ICSM.2009.5306336