The assignment aims to familiarize students with the process of analyzing software system evolution, which can be done by tracking system growth and calculating similarity between versions. Size and growth are usually measured in lines of code, with similarity calculated as the fraction of similar code. By analyzing growth and similarity, patterns can be identified that indicate whether a version is a patch, minor, or major update. Previous studies, such as Simone Livieri et al.'s analysis of the Linux Kernel, have used these methods to gain insights into software system evolution. In this assignment, similar methods are applied to the jQuery software system using code clone analysis with JsInspect.
