---

Similarities at analysis, design and implementation levels in software are great opportunities for reuse. When such similarities are not exploited, they can lead to repetitions in software (also called ´clones´). Sometimes clones manifest as repeating similarity patterns consisting of clone fragments. We call them ´structural clones´. Most clones negatively affect software maintenance, but clones may also have benefits. We believe that the lack of a holistic approach to unify and reuse clones without losing their benefits is behind the high levels of cloning in today s software. This book takes on the cloning problem in web application domain. It describes a holistic ´clone management´ approach that uses meta-programming to counter negative effects of clones (notably, on maintainability), while preserving and leveraging their positive aspects (notably, their reuse potential).

---