This paper presents an exploratory study that analyzes the complexity to integrate existing merge conflicts of a cloned large-scale web system. The study is supported by an existing tool that focuses on the identification of merge conflicts that can arise during the integration of cloned systems. The approach addresses the merge conflict analysis through the extraction and comparison of the issues and code history of cloned systems using mining software repository and static analysis

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... The main aims of our study are: (i) to quantify the kind of conflicts defined by our approach that happen when evolving cloned systems; (ii) to evaluate if they are being correctly detected by our tool; and finally (iii) to analyze the difficult to integrate them from one cloned system to another. The study findings show: (i) a predominance of semantic conflicts between issues of source and target cloned systems; and (ii) the feasibility to use merge analysis approaches to integrate tasks from one clone to another. Clone-and-own approach, web-based information systems, software merge, code merge conflicts I.