Incorporating Aspects into the UML

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Incorporating Aspectsinto the UML

• Mark Basch
• Arturo Sánchez
• CIS Department
• University of North Florida
• Jacksonville, FL

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Affiliations

• Arturo Sánchez Assistant Professor, Coordinator
  of the Graduate Software Engineering Track, CIS
  Department.
• Mark Basch Recent MS Graduate.

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Context - I

• We considered where aspects can be unveiled in
  the software development process, and
• How can developers express them as they are
  elicited by using UML.
• Process
• Unified.
• Extreme Programming.

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Context - II

• The working example is the real estate problem in
  the book by Kulak and Guiney Use Cases
  Requirements in Context, Addison-Wesley, 2000.
  Appendix B.
• a real estate agency application that acts
  as a mediator between the buyer and the seller.
  The agency provides expertise through its agents
  and also links customers with other institutions,
  such as lenders,as required.

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This Paper - I

• Summary of the elements we propose to add to UML
  for modeling aspects in
• Packages.
• Class diagrams.
• Interaction diagrams.
• Statechart diagrams.
• Other UML diagrams.

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This Paper - II

• Related Work.
• Conclusions and Future Work.

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Few Definitions
system
aspects
Point Cuts for Aspect A
components

• Module
• Component
• Aspect

• Advise Code of Aspect
• before()
• after ()

Joint Points for Component C
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Guiding Principles - I

• Each aspect will be considered as its own
  encapsulated module separated by the system as a
  whole, and also separated from other aspects.
• A key goal is to show where aspects crosscut the
  components of the system.

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Guiding Principles - II

• Multiple views are encouraged.
• Use of procedures outlined in OMGs
  specifications for UML 1.4, and the Reference
  Manual by Rumbaugh, Jacobson, and Booch.
• Various stages across the whole development were
  considered.

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Aspect Packages
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Aspect Packages
Stereotype
Component Package
Joint point icon
Joint point pattern
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Aspects and Classes
public static void A
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Sequence DiagramsComponent View
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Sequence DiagramsComponent View
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Sequence DiagramsAspect View
Agent
Flashes a warning to users who attempt to make a
transaction without an agent.
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Statechart Diagrams
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Other Diagrams - I

• Use Case used to elicit requirements,useful to
  elicit aspects as well at early stages of
  development.
• Detailed Use Cases some organizations use this
  as their functional specifications. In this case,
  aspects should probably be mentioned.

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Other Diagrams - II

• Activity primary focus is on the sequence and
  conditions for the actions that are taken, rather
  than on which classifiers perform those actions.
  (OMG)
• Could be used for eliciting aspects, but probably
  not for expressing component-to-aspect
  relationships.

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Related Work

• First International Conference on AOSD (Workshop
  on Aspects and UML The Netherlands).
• Fifth International Conference on the UML
  (Germany).

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Conclusions

• Aspects could be modeled across the entire
  software life cycle.
• UML needs to be extended so aspects are modeled
  as a separate concern.
• Multiple views are encouraged.
• Notation needs to be language-independent and yet
  be useful to guide implementations.
• Case tools need to support new notation.

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Future Work

• A language-independent model for aspects is
  needed. This will define semantic terms that are
  added to UML.
• Aspect-UML Syntax (UML and Aspect)
• Semantics (UML and Aspects)
• Relationships component-aspect, aspect-aspect.
• Language-neutral representation so CASE tools can
  generate specific code from some UML artifacts.
• Relationship to Model-Driven Development.