Survey on Software Clone Detection Research

Abstract

In order to improve the efficiency of software development, developers often copy-paste code. It is found that the clone code may affect the quality of the software system, especially the maintenance and comprehension of the software, so it is necessary to find and locate it. Many clone detection techniques and tools have been proposed in the search for clone code. How to make better use of these detection techniques and tools will be very important. This paper describes the clone code and general process of clone code detection; introduces different clone code detection methods and related technologies; then conducts a summary analysis, the challenges and development direction faced by clone detection technology.