Aspect (computer programming): Difference between revisions

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An '''aspect''' of a program is a [[Software feature|feature]] linked to many other parts of the program, but which is not related to the program's primary function. An aspect [[Cross-cutting concern|crosscuts]] the program's [[core concern]]s, therefore violating its [[separation of concerns]] that tries to encapsulate unrelated functions. For example, [[Data logging|logging]] code can crosscut many modules, yet the aspect of logging should be separate from the functional concerns of the module it cross-cuts. Isolating such aspects as logging and [[persistence (computer science)|persistence]] from [[business logic]] is the aim of [[aspect-oriented software development]] (AOSD), of which the [[aspect-oriented programming]] (AOP) [[programming paradigm|paradigm]] is the most widely employed.<ref>{{citebook|title=Aspect-Oriented Database Systems|url=https://archive.org/details/springer_10.1007-978-3-662-05851-0|author=Awais Rashid|year= 2004|publisher=Springer|isbn=3-540-00948-5}}</ref>

Aspect-orientation is not limited to programming since it is useful to identify, analyse, trace and modularise concerns (e.g., [[PREview]]{{Clarify|date=June 2011}}) through requirements elicitation, specification and design. Aspects can be multi-dimensional by allowing both functional and non-functional behaviour to crosscut any other concerns, instead of just mapping non-functional concerns to functional requirements{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}.