Performance Evaluation of Clone Detection Tools

Code clones are code portions which are similar in syntax or semantics. Copy-paste activity is the main reason for introducing clones in a software system. These clones must be identified and removed from a system to improve the quality of a software system. Various clone detection tools have been proposed that provide assistance to professionals in identifying code clones and once identified clones can be removed from software systems. These clone detection tools implement different clone detection techniques and have different approach in detection of clones. This study presents an investigation of clone detection tools to understand the performance of each tool and to judge the usefulness and accuracy of clone detection tools. This study can be helpful while making a selection of a particular tool for detection of clones in a software system.