Conformance Checking of Running Programs in Dynamic Aspect-Oriented Systems

A dynamic aspect-oriented system weaves aspects into applications at run time. As a result, a static model can be dynamically modified to include the codes needed to fulfill non-functional requirements without having to shut down the running program. Although this provides a high degree of flexibility, it may lead to a conformance problem. In this paper, we study the conformance issues of aspect-oriented programs and propose a scheme to check the conformance of running programs with the original software specification in dynamic aspect-oriented systems. First, we propose extensions of the UML model to express the specification of aspect-oriented applications, after which we study and classify typical mistakes made in deploying aspects. Then, we design a scheme to check if the current state conforms to the software specification. We take JAsCo as the target system to implement the proposed scheme. When the program starts running or aspects in the registry are changed, the system informs the developers if the current state violates the software specification.