Aspect weaver

Aspect weaver

An aspect weaver takes information from raw classes and aspects and creates new classes with the aspect code appropriately weaved into the classes.
Available in	AspectC++, AspectJ
Type	Aspect-oriented programming

An aspect weaver is a metaprogramming utility for aspect-oriented languages designed to take instructions specified by aspects (isolated representations of a significant concepts in a program) and generate the final implementation code. The weaver integrates aspects into the locations specified by the software as a pre-compilation step. By merging aspects and classes (representations of the structure of entities in the program), the weaver generates a woven class.

Aspect weavers take instructions known as advice specified through the use of pointcuts and join points, special segments of code that indicate what methods should be handled by aspect code. The implementation of the aspect then specifies whether the related code should be added before, after, or throughout the related methods. By doing this, aspect weavers improve modularity, keeping code in one place that would otherwise have been interspersed throughout various, unrelated classes.

Many programming languages are already widely accepted and understood. However, the desire to create radically different programming languages to support the aspect-oriented programming paradigm is not significant due to business-related concerns; there are risks associated with adopting new technologies. Use of an entirely new language relies on a business's ability to acquire new developers. Additionally, the existing code base of a business would need to be discarded. Finally, a business would need to acquire a new toolchain (suite of tools) for development, which is often both an expense in both money and time. Primary concerns about roadmaps for the adoption of new technologies tend to be the need to train new developers and adapt existing processes to the new technology.