IWSC(D): From Research to Practice: A Personal Historical Retelling

Abstract

The two authors of this chapter were among the founding participants of the First International Workshop on Software Clone Detection (IWSCD)—nowadays known as the International Workshop on Software Clones (IWSC). This chapter briefly summarizes the history of this community-building workshop from its early days until today. IWSC(D) has had not only an impact on research but also in practice. Indeed the authors have also developed clone detection tools—among other static program analyses to assess the internal quality of programs—used in the software industry by thousands of developers. The foundations of these tools were laid in software clone research, which highlights both the relevance of this topic for industry and what impact research may be capable to achieve. This historical retelling will not only be a summary of almost 20 years of the history of our primary community event—trying to be as accurate and complete as possible—but also provide the personal perspectives of the two authors along with some anecdotes.