Aspectual collaborations: Combining modules and aspects

Karl Lieberherr, David Lorenz, Johan Ovlinger

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Complex behavior often resists clean modularization in object-oriented languages. Aspect-oriented programming tackles this problem by providing flexible module boundaries that can span and partition classes. However, in order to achieve this flexibility, valuable modularity mechanisms, such as encapsulation and external composition, are lost. The ability to separately compile or reason about a modular unit is also compromised. We propose that this tradeoff is not necessary and that by expressing aspects as part of our modules, we can restore the lost modular properties while maintaining aspectual features. As a concrete demonstration, we present the main features of Aspectual Collaborations and show how these interact to combine modularity with aspectual behavior. The expressiveness of Aspectual Collaborations, AspectJ and Hyper/J are compared using a challenge problem, allowing us to estimate the effectiveness of the approach.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)544-565
Number of pages22
JournalComputer Journal
Volume46
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2003
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Special Issue on AOP and Separation of Crosscutting Concerns

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