The paradoxical success of aspect-oriented programming

ABSTRACT

Aspect-oriented programming is considered a promising new technology. As object-oriented programming did before, it is beginning to pervade all areas of software engineering. With its growing popularity, practitioners and academics alike are wondering whether they should start looking into it, or otherwise risk having missed an important development. The author of this essay finds that much of aspect-oriented programming's success seems to be based on the conception that it improves both modularity and the structure of code, while in fact, it works against the primary purposes of the two, namely independent development and understandability of programs. Not seeing any way of fixing this situation, he thinks the success of aspect-oriented programming to be paradoxical.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.2 Design Tools and Techniques
          Subjects: Modules and interfaces

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.2 Language Classifications
          Subjects: Multiparadigm languages
      D.3.3 Language Constructs and Features
          Subjects: Control structures; Procedures, functions, and subroutines; Modules, packages

General Terms:
Languages

Keywords:
aspect-oriented programming, globalization of variables, independent development, modularization, program structure, readability, software engineering