Re: Anyone on ll1-discuss besides spammers?

[Johan Ovlinger <address@hidden>]

mcguire@cs.utexas.edu wrote:
>  >Also, is so-called "Aspect Oriented Programming" essentially a hook on
>  >message sends (implementation-wise)?
> 
> Not quite, since I think you can establish cuts at a finer granularity
> than methods.  Maybe.

The implementation often requires some sort of hook. However, in 
the same way object orientation is more than just vtable 
management, aop is more than just the interception mechanism.


The fundamental building blocks of AOP is rather the mechanism by 
which we specify what points to use as hooks (pointcuts to 
specify join-points) and how those points should be modified (the 
advice).

Hooks on a methods are just one instance of that (albeit the most 
popular).  Other examples are:

1. Program structuring conventions (such as the law of demeter)
2. Real time constraints
3. Invariant mainenance

The ultimate goal is to be able to

A capture each concern in some unit of program structre (call it 
a module)
B compose these units into a runnable program
C be able to understand each unit separately and then compose 
that understanding into an understanding of the big picture.

The problem is that getting all three at once is a bit tricky. 
The abilities that appear to be need in order to enable A seem to 
  make C very difficult.