Join point interception (JPI), is considered an important cornerstone of aspect-oriented languages. However, we claim that JPI alone does not suffice for a modular structuring of aspects. We propose Caesar, a model for aspect-oriented programming with a higher-level module concept on top of JPI, which enables reuse and componentization of aspects, allows us to use aspects polymorphically, and introduces a novel concept for dynamic aspect deployment.

In this paper we introduce a novel aspect oriented implementation language, called JAsCo. JAsCo is tailored for component based development and the Java Beans component model in particular. The JAsCo language introduces two concepts: aspect beans and connectors. An aspect bean describes behavior that interferes with the execution of a component by using a special kind of inner class, called a hook. The specification of a hook is context independent and therefore reusable. A connector on the other hand, is used for deploying one or more hooks within a specific context. To implement the JAsCo language, we propose a new “aspect-enabled ’ component model, which contains build-in traps that enable to interfere with the normal execution of a component. The JAsCo component model is backward-compatible with the Java Beans component model. Furthermore, the JAsCo component model allows very flexible aspect application, adaptation and removal at run-time. The necessary tool support for the JAsCo approach has been implemented. In addition, we present a performance assessment of our current implementation. 1.

This paper presents an analysis of feature-oriented and aspect-oriented modularization approaches with respect to variability management as needed in the context of system families. This analysis serves two purposes. On the one hand, our analysis of the weaknesses of feature-oriented approaches (FOAs for short) emphasizes the importance of crosscutting modularity as supported by the aspect-oriented concepts of pointcut and advice. On the other hand, by pointing out some of AspectJ's weaknesses and by demonstrating how Caesar, a language which combines concepts from both AspectJ and FOAs, is more effective in this context, we also demonstrate the power of appropriate support for layer modules.

In this paper, we investigate whether module concepts for capturing multi-object collaborations can be effectively used to implement crosscutting concerns in reusable, independently developed modules for a-posteriori integration into existing systems. A new kind of collaboration module, called Object Teams, is proposed which combines the best features of existing approaches, further enhances them with concepts for expressing crosscutting relations between independent collaborations, and facilitates a-posteriori integration of such collaborations into existing systems.

We present a new classification system for aspect-oriented programs. This system characterizes the interactions between aspects and methods and identifies classes of interactions that enable modular reasoning about the crosscut program. We argue that this system can help developers structure their understanding of aspect-oriented programs and promotes their ability to reason productively about the consequences of crosscutting a program with a given aspect. We have designed and implemented a program analysis system that automatically classifies interactions between aspects and methods and have applied this analysis to a set of benchmark programs. We found that our analysis is able to 1) identify interactions with desirable properties (such as lack of interference), 2) identify potentially problematic interactions (such as interference caused by the aspect and the method both writing the same field), and 3) direct the developer’s attention to the causes of such interactions.

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Two programming paradigms are gaining attention in the overlapping fields of software product lines (SPLs) and incremental software development (ISD). Feature-oriented programming (FOP) aims at large-scale compositional programming and feature modularity in SPLs using ISD. Aspect-oriented programming (AOP) focuses on the modularization of crosscutting concerns in complex software. Although feature modules, the main abstraction mechanisms of FOP, perform well in implementing large-scale software building blocks, they are incapable of modularizing certain kinds of crosscutting concerns. This weakness is exactly the strength of aspects, the main abstraction mechanisms of AOP. We contribute a systematic evaluation and comparison of FOP and AOP. It reveals that aspects and feature modules are complementary techniques. Consequently, we propose the symbiosis of FOP and AOP and aspectual feature modules (AFMs), a programming technique that integrates feature modules and aspects. We provide a set of tools that support implementing AFMs on top of Java and C++. We apply AFMs to a nontrivial case study demonstrating their practical applicability and to justify our design choices.

Abstract. The application of refactorings during an object-oriented development process improves the design and therefore the quality of software. Aspectorientation is a new programming paradigm that increases the modularity of software. Hence, it seems natural to apply both aspect-orientation as well as refactoring during a software development process since both techniques permit to increase the modularity and comprehensibility of software. However, on the one hand existing object-oriented refactoring techniques cannot directly be applied to aspect-oriented software because traditional object-oriented refactoring applied in an aspect-oriented environment is no longer behavior preserving. On the other hand, since the new features of aspect-oriented languages permit to modularize software in different ways there is a large variety of new refactorings based on these features. This paper discusses the relationship between object-oriented refactoring and aspect-orientation. We show what aspect-oriented elements conflict with existing refactorings and propose solutions for these conflicts for the aspect language AspectJ. Furthermore, we introduce a number of new aspect-oriented refactorings which help on the one hand to migrate from object-oriented to aspect-oriented software and on the other hand to restructure existing aspect-oriented code. 1

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