A Coupling Framework for AspectJ

Aspect-orientation is an emerging paradigm that is based on the separation of concerns principle. It offers the idea of a new modular unit that encapsulates crosscutting concerns which would otherwise be scattered across multiple modules. Aspect-oriented measurement is a research area that has gained an increasing amount of attention lately due to the definition of several suites of measures designed to support aspect-oriented key features. Unlike object-orientation, however, aspect-orientation lacks a sound foundation on which measures can be expressed in operationalisable ways making it difficult to analyse and compare existing aspect-oriented measures. We identify a need to create common ground on which the definition of aspect-oriented measures can be based.