Recognizing Sorting Algorithms with the C4.5 Decision Tree Classifier

We present a method for automatic algorithm recognition, which consists of two phases. First, the target algorithms are converted into characteristic vectors, which are computed based on static analysis of program code including various statistics of language constructs and analysis of Roles of Variables. In the second phase, the algorithms are classified based on these vectors using the C4.5 decision tree classifier. We have developed a prototype and successfully applied the method to sorting algorithms. Evaluated with leave-one-out technique, the accuracy of the constructed decision tree classifier is 97.1%.