Applying aspectJ for source code instrumentation to support tracing of functional features
Bing Chen · Spectrum Research Repository (Concordia University) · 2006
Program comprehension is an essential part of software maintenance and there exists a variety of techniques the can be applied to support the comprehension process. Two of these techniques are source code analysis and program instrumentation. Source code analysis is typically applied to analyze the source code of existing systems and their behavior. There exists a wide range of techniques and approaches to support source code analysis. Feature analysis is one of these techniques that can be applied to extract functional features from existing source code. Another approach is program instrumentation that is used to collect program executions and program behavior. In this thesis, both of these techniques, feature analysis and program instrumentation, are combined to improve on the understanding of functional features and their behavior. In the presented approach, feature related statements in Java programs are mapped in a semi-automatic process into AspectJ tracing program. The approach takes advantage of both, the tracing and encapsulation support embedded within the Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP) paradigm. An initial case study is presented to illustrate the presented approach.