Evaluation experiments on the detection of programming patterns using software metrics

Cloning of code fragments in large systems is a common practice that may result in redundant code, higher maintenance costs, and less modular systems. The paper examines and evaluates the use of five data and control flow related metrics for identifying similar code fragments. The metrics are used as signatures for a code fragment. Matching on such signatures results in fast matching that can be used to locate instances of code cloning even in the presence of modifications such as changes in variable names, and insertion of statements. The paper takes an information retrieval approach and reports on experiments conducted for retrieving code fragments in three different software systems.