aj5announce.html - gerrit/www.eclipse.org/aspectj - Git at Google

 <html>
     <head>
         <title>AspectJ and AspectWerkz to Join Forces</title>
         <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.eclipse.org/default_style.css" type="text/css">
     </head>
     <body>

      <h1>AspectJ and AspectWerkz to Join Forces</h1>

         <p>The AspectJ <i>
                 <a href="#aspectj">(1)</a>
             </i>and AspectWerkz <i>
                 <a href="#aspectwerkz">(2)</a>
             </i>projects have agreed to work together as one team to produce a single
             aspect-oriented programming platform building on their complementary strengths and
             expertise. The first release from this collaboration will be AspectJ 5, which extends
             the AspectJ language to support an annotation-based development style in addition to the
             familiar AspectJ code-based style. AspectJ 5 will also provide full AOP support for the
             new Java(tm) 5 language features.</p>

  <table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
    <tr>
     <td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
     <font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica">&nbsp;A Natural Step...</font></b></td>
    </tr>
   </table>

         <p>The AspectWerkz language has been moving closer and closer to that of AspectJ. The key
             difference is that whereas AspectJ uses a syntax that complements Java as defined in the
             original JLS (Java Language Specification), AspectWerkz supports both annotation and XML
             based styles of development. In addition, AspectWerkz has focused largely on close
             integration of load-time weaving into J2EE application environments while AspectJ has
             focused more on (static) compilation and weaving, runtime performance, and tools support.</p>

         <p>A complete AOP environment needs a strong conceptual model, first-class IDE support, a
             type-safe language, high performance, support for a variety of weaving times and
             deployment modes, an aspect library, and the ability to be easily integrated into
             existing application environments. Full integration with the new features of Java 5 is
             essential, including annotations, generics, auto-boxing, covariance, varargs, and enums.</p>

         <p>The combined strengths of the two teams will enable us to deliver a more comprehensive
             technology suite more quickly than either team could alone. The backing of two major
             vendors (IBM and BEA) and a large open source community will accelerate the adoption of AOP in the
             enterprise. AspectJ 5 will continue as a fully open-source project on Eclipse.org.</p>

         <p>Following the AspectWerkz 2.0 release, the AspectWerkz developers will be joining the
             AspectJ project to bring the key features of AspectWerkz to the AspectJ platform. This
             will begin with an extension to the AspectJ language to support an annotation-based
             style of development, and with tighter integration of load-time weaving for AspectJ in
             the J2EE environment. A smooth migration path for existing AspectWerkz users is a key
             priority in the development and release planning.</p>

  <table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
    <tr>
     <td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
     <font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica">&nbsp;Development Plans</font></b></td>
    </tr>
   </table>

         <p>We anticipate delivery of the first AspectJ 5 release in March 2005 (with milestone
             releases ahead of that date). This release will contain full support for the new
             features of Java 5, and support for an annotation-based development style in addition to
             the more familiar AspectJ code-based style. We informally call the set of annotations
             for the annotation style of development the "@AspectJ" annotations. See the
             work-in-progress AspectJ 5 Developer's Notebook <i>
                 <a href="#ajdkNotebook">(3)</a>
             </i>for details of these features. The AspectJ Development Tools (AJDT) for Eclipse will
             also be enhanced to provide support for the annotation style.</p>

         <p>AspectJ 5 will also include an aspect library. Just as with the JDK, over time much of
             the value in the AspectJ 5 platform will come from these libraries, and they will
             provide an even faster way for new users to become productive working with AspectJ
             &quot;straight out of the box&quot;. </p>

         <p>The March release is just the first of several AspectJ 5 releases planned for 2005.
             Follow-on releases will deliver more of the load-time weaving features of AspectWerkz.
             As part of this work, we will also enable support for JRockit optimizations. Adding to
             the aspect libraries shipped with AspectJ 5, and reducing further the time and memory
             consumption of the weaver are also high-priority items.</p>

  <table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
    <tr>
     <td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
     <font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica">&nbsp;AspectJ 5</font></b></td>
    </tr>
   </table>

         <p>AspectJ 5 will have an even larger and more active user community formed from bringing
             together the existing AspectJ and AspectWerkz users. The existing AspectJ website and
             mailing lists will be used to support this community. The development team working on
             AspectJ 5 will also be larger than either of the current AspectJ and AspectWerkz teams,
             accelerating the rate of progress.</p>

         <p>In AspectJ 5 the AspectJ language is extended to support both a code style and an
             annotation style of development. These provide equivalent ways to write AspectJ
             programs, and give the broadest support possible for the mix of development tools, IDEs,
             and processes used in development projects today. The Eclipse AspectJ Development Tools
             (AJDT) will work with the full AspectJ language, supporting any mixture of code and
             annotation style development.</p>

         <p>AspectJ 5 will also have extended deployment options for load-time weaving, supporting
             aop.xml deployment files in the style of AspectWerkz.</p>

         <p>AspectJ 5 users have access to a strong and growing set of books, articles, educational
             materials, training and consultancy. The following is just a selection of the books
             published or soon to be published:</p>

         <ul>
             <li>
                 <a href="http://www.manning.com/laddad">AspectJ in Action</a>
             </li>
             <li>
                 <a
                     href="http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471431044.html">Mastering AspectJ</a>
             </li>
             <li>
                 <a href="http://www.awprofessional.com/title/0321245873">Eclipse AspectJ:
                     Aspect-oriented programming with Eclipse and the AspectJ Development Tools</a>
             </li>
             <li>
                 <a href="http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/aspectjckbk/">The AspectJ Cookbook</a>
             </li>
             <li>
                 <a href="http://www.awprofessional.com/title/0321268881">Aspect-Oriented Software
                     Development with Use Cases</a>
             </li>
             <li>
                 <a href="http://www.aw-bc.com/catalog/academic/product/0,1144,0321246748,00.html">
                 Aspect-Oriented Analysis and Design</a>
             </li>
         </ul>

         <p>In addition, AspectJ 5 benefits from a wide body of research, ranging from core
             aspect-oriented programming and design, to tools support such as refactorings, and an
             additional compiler called abc <i>
                 <a href="#abc">(4)</a>
             </i>for the AspectJ language developed jointly by Oxford University, McGill, and Aarhus University.</p>

         <p>An increasing number of universities are also now teaching aspect-oriented programming
             courses using AspectJ, creating a flow of students into industry with knowledge of AOP.</p>

  <table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
    <tr>
     <td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
     <font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica">&nbsp;Frequently Asked Questions</font></b></td>
    </tr>
   </table>

         <ol>
             <li><a href="#q1">What does it mean for AspectJ 5 to support more than one development style?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q2">Why should an existing AspectJ user be interested in the @AspectJ annotations?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q3">Can I use both the code style and the @AspectJ annotation style in the same application?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q4">Will AJDT support the new annotation-based style?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q5">Will I be forced to use Eclipse to develop AspectJ applications?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q6">How hard will it be to port existing AspectWerkz applications to AspectJ 5?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q7">When can I begin moving my AspectWerkz applications to AspectJ 5?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q8">What about the doclet syntax that AspectWerkz supports?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q9">Will AspectJ 5 support aop.xml deployment descriptors?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q10">Will you support an XML syntax for defining aspects too?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q11">Will the existing AspectWerkz releases continue to be supported?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q12">What will happen to the AspectWerkz project / website / ... ?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q13">Will the compile/weave/runtime performance of AspectJ be impacted?</a></li>
             <li><a href="#q14">Our company relies on AspectJ, will all these changes destabilize the implementation in
             any way?</a></li>
          </ol>

         <p><b><a name="q1"/>1). What does it mean for AspectJ 5 to support more than one development style?</b></p>

         <p>The code style and the annotation style using the @AspectJ annotations are just two
             alternate spellings for the same semantics. The same compilation, weaving and tools
             support will be used for both - and anything you learn in one style will transfer easily
             into the other.</p>

         <p>Users who are not able to adopt the code-based style of development will be able to
             continue developing in a familiar style, but take advantage of the AspectJ 5 tools and
             the large body of training materials around the AspectJ language - since examples
             written using the code style will readily move across into the annotation style.</p>

         <p>The following example shows a simple AspectJ aspect written using the existing code style.</p>

         <blockquote> <pre>
             public aspect Authorization {

               pointcut restrictedOperation() : execution(* IRestrictedAccess+.*(..));

               before() : restrictedOperation() {
                   // verify caller is authorized to access this
                   // operation ...
               }
             }
         </pre></blockquote>

         <p>Using the @AspectJ annotations, the same aspect may be written as:</p>

         <blockquote><pre>
             @Aspect
             public class Authorization {

               @Pointcut("execution(* IRestrictedAccess+.*(..))")
               void restrictedOperation() {}

               @Before("restrictedOperation()")
               public void verifyAccess() {
                     // verify caller is authorized to access this
                     // operation ...
               }
             }
         </pre></blockquote>

         <p>The important thing to note here is that both programs mean <i>exactly</i> the same thing
             - they are semantically equivalent. They will both be treated in an identical manner by
             the compiler, weaver, and IDE tools.</p>

         <p>Though we doubt this mix will be recommended, you could also use the annotation style and
             the code style in combination within a single source file - since they are both part of
             the one single AspectJ language.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q2"/>2). Why should an existing AspectJ user be interested in the @AspectJ annotations?</b></p>

         <p>An existing AspectJ user may benefit from the @AspectJ annotations when introducing
             AspectJ to a project where the team are not able to change IDE, compilers etc.</p>

         <p>The @AspectJ annotations will be easier to work with in tools such as IntelliJ that do
             not yet provide any AspectJ support.</p>

         <p>The @AspectJ annotations will be less likely to interfere with non-AspectJ aware source
             code processing tools that your project team may use.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q3"/>3). Can I use both the code style and the @AspectJ annotation style in the same application?</b></p>

         <p>Yes. You will be able to use aspects developed with the code style and aspects developed
             with the @AspectJ annotations in the same application. Combining these within the same
             source file will be possible but not recommended.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q4"/>4). Will AJDT support the new annotation-based style?</b></p>

         <p>Yes. Eclipse itself will provide support annotations on Java classes as part of its Java
             5 support. The AJDT crosscutting views will work for programs developed using any
             combination of the styles.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q5"/>5). Will I be forced to use Eclipse to develop AspectJ applications?</b></p>

         <p>No. The AspectJ project is strongly committed to providing developers the tools they need
             whether they use an IDE or not. AspectJ has always included a command-line compiler and
             dedicated support for ant builds, and this will not change with AspectJ 5.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q6"/>6). How hard will it be to port existing AspectWerkz applications to AspectJ 5?</b></p>

         <p>The @AspectJ annotations have been designed to be as close as possible to the AspectWerkz
             syntax, while still preserving the semantics of the AspectJ language.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q7"/>7). When can I begin moving my AspectWerkz applications to AspectJ 5?</b></p>

         <p>Programs written for AspectWerkz will be able to be ported to use the @AspectJ
             annotations from the 1.5.0 release onwards (currently planned for March 2005). Support
             for some of the existing AspectWerkz deployment and runtime facilities will be available
             at that time, with further enhancements coming in follow-on releases.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q8"/>8). What about the doclet syntax that AspectWerkz supports?</b></p>

         <p>Doclet support is not planned for the initial 1.5.0 release, but is a relatively easy
             extension once support for the @AspectJ annotation style has been implemented. We plan
             to make this feature available in a follow-on release shortly after 1.5.0.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q9"/>9). Will AspectJ 5 support aop.xml deployment descriptors?</b></p>

         <p>Yes. The XML-based deployment descriptors are an important piece of the J2EE integration
             story. AspectJ 5 will also support configuration via aop.properties files for
             environments where an XML parsing infrastructure is not available.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q10"/>10). Will you support an XML syntax for defining aspects too?</b></p>

         <p>AspectJ 5 will provide support for defining concrete sub-aspects in aop.xml files. These
             must extend existing abstract aspects, and provide definitions for all abstract
             pointcuts defined in those aspects. See the AspectJ 5 Developer's Notebook for more details.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q11"/>11). Will the existing AspectWerkz releases continue to be supported?</b></p>

         <p>Yes. There will be an AspectWerkz 2.0 final release, and this will be supported. We will
             ensure that the migration path from AspectWerkz 2.0 to AspectJ 5 is as smooth as possible.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q12"/>12). What will happen to the AspectWerkz project / website / ... ?</b></p>

         <p>It will remain hosted and maintained at <a
             href="http://aspectwerkz.codehaus.org/">http://aspectwerkz.codehaus.org</a> in support
             of the AspectWerkz releases. Information relating to AspectJ 5 will be on the
             <a href="http://www.eclipse.org/aspectj">AspectJ</a> website.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q13"/>13). Will the compile/weave/runtime performance of AspectJ be impacted?</b></p>

         <p>No. Our target is for AspectJ 5 compile / weave / runtime performance to be as good or
             better than what can be achieved with AspectJ 1.2 today.</p>

         <p><b><a name="q14"/>14). Our company relies on AspectJ, will all these changes destabilize the implementation in
             any way?</b></p>

         <p>No. The changes described in this documented are incremental changes on top of the
             existing AspectJ codebase.</p>

  <table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
    <tr>
     <td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
     <font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica">&nbsp;References</font></b></td>
    </tr>
   </table>

         <p><a name="aspectj">[1]</a> <a href="http://www.eclipse.org/aspectj">AspectJ</a></p>
         <p><a name="aspectwerkz">[2]</a> <a
         href="http://aspectwerkz.codehaus.org">AspectWerkz</a></p>
         <p><a name="ajdkNotebook">[3]</a> <a
             href="http://dev.eclipse.org/viewcvs/indextech.cgi/~checkout~/aspectj-home/doc/ajdk15notebook/index.html">AspectJ
         5 Developer's Notebook</a> </p>
         <p><a name="abc">[4]</a> <a href="http://www.aspectbench.org">The AspectBench
             Compiler for AspectJ</a></p>

  <table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
    <tr>
     <td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
     <font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica">&nbsp;Trademarks</font></b></td>
    </tr>
   </table>

         <p>Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United
             States, other countries, or both.</p>

         <p>Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.</p>

     </body>
 </html>
	<html>
	<head>
	<title>AspectJ and AspectWerkz to Join Forces</title>
	<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.eclipse.org/default_style.css" type="text/css">
	</head>
	<body>

	<h1>AspectJ and AspectWerkz to Join Forces</h1>

	<p>The AspectJ <i>
	<a href="#aspectj">(1)</a>
	</i>and AspectWerkz <i>
	<a href="#aspectwerkz">(2)</a>
	</i>projects have agreed to work together as one team to produce a single
	aspect-oriented programming platform building on their complementary strengths and
	expertise. The first release from this collaboration will be AspectJ 5, which extends
	the AspectJ language to support an annotation-based development style in addition to the
	familiar AspectJ code-based style. AspectJ 5 will also provide full AOP support for the
	new Java(tm) 5 language features.</p>

	<table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
	<tr>
	<td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
	<font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica"> A Natural Step...</font></b></td>
	</tr>
	</table>

	<p>The AspectWerkz language has been moving closer and closer to that of AspectJ. The key
	difference is that whereas AspectJ uses a syntax that complements Java as defined in the
	original JLS (Java Language Specification), AspectWerkz supports both annotation and XML
	based styles of development. In addition, AspectWerkz has focused largely on close
	integration of load-time weaving into J2EE application environments while AspectJ has
	focused more on (static) compilation and weaving, runtime performance, and tools support.</p>

	<p>A complete AOP environment needs a strong conceptual model, first-class IDE support, a
	type-safe language, high performance, support for a variety of weaving times and
	deployment modes, an aspect library, and the ability to be easily integrated into
	existing application environments. Full integration with the new features of Java 5 is
	essential, including annotations, generics, auto-boxing, covariance, varargs, and enums.</p>

	<p>The combined strengths of the two teams will enable us to deliver a more comprehensive
	technology suite more quickly than either team could alone. The backing of two major
	vendors (IBM and BEA) and a large open source community will accelerate the adoption of AOP in the
	enterprise. AspectJ 5 will continue as a fully open-source project on Eclipse.org.</p>

	<p>Following the AspectWerkz 2.0 release, the AspectWerkz developers will be joining the
	AspectJ project to bring the key features of AspectWerkz to the AspectJ platform. This
	will begin with an extension to the AspectJ language to support an annotation-based
	style of development, and with tighter integration of load-time weaving for AspectJ in
	the J2EE environment. A smooth migration path for existing AspectWerkz users is a key
	priority in the development and release planning.</p>

	<table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
	<tr>
	<td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
	<font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica"> Development Plans</font></b></td>
	</tr>
	</table>

	<p>We anticipate delivery of the first AspectJ 5 release in March 2005 (with milestone
	releases ahead of that date). This release will contain full support for the new
	features of Java 5, and support for an annotation-based development style in addition to
	the more familiar AspectJ code-based style. We informally call the set of annotations
	for the annotation style of development the "@AspectJ" annotations. See the
	work-in-progress AspectJ 5 Developer's Notebook <i>
	<a href="#ajdkNotebook">(3)</a>
	</i>for details of these features. The AspectJ Development Tools (AJDT) for Eclipse will
	also be enhanced to provide support for the annotation style.</p>

	<p>AspectJ 5 will also include an aspect library. Just as with the JDK, over time much of
	the value in the AspectJ 5 platform will come from these libraries, and they will
	provide an even faster way for new users to become productive working with AspectJ
	"straight out of the box". </p>

	<p>The March release is just the first of several AspectJ 5 releases planned for 2005.
	Follow-on releases will deliver more of the load-time weaving features of AspectWerkz.
	As part of this work, we will also enable support for JRockit optimizations. Adding to
	the aspect libraries shipped with AspectJ 5, and reducing further the time and memory
	consumption of the weaver are also high-priority items.</p>

	<table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
	<tr>
	<td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
	<font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica"> AspectJ 5</font></b></td>
	</tr>
	</table>

	<p>AspectJ 5 will have an even larger and more active user community formed from bringing
	together the existing AspectJ and AspectWerkz users. The existing AspectJ website and
	mailing lists will be used to support this community. The development team working on
	AspectJ 5 will also be larger than either of the current AspectJ and AspectWerkz teams,
	accelerating the rate of progress.</p>

	<p>In AspectJ 5 the AspectJ language is extended to support both a code style and an
	annotation style of development. These provide equivalent ways to write AspectJ
	programs, and give the broadest support possible for the mix of development tools, IDEs,
	and processes used in development projects today. The Eclipse AspectJ Development Tools
	(AJDT) will work with the full AspectJ language, supporting any mixture of code and
	annotation style development.</p>

	<p>AspectJ 5 will also have extended deployment options for load-time weaving, supporting
	aop.xml deployment files in the style of AspectWerkz.</p>

	<p>AspectJ 5 users have access to a strong and growing set of books, articles, educational
	materials, training and consultancy. The following is just a selection of the books
	published or soon to be published:</p>

	<ul>
	<li>
	<a href="http://www.manning.com/laddad">AspectJ in Action</a>
	</li>
	<li>
	<a
	href="http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471431044.html">Mastering AspectJ</a>
	</li>
	<li>
	<a href="http://www.awprofessional.com/title/0321245873">Eclipse AspectJ:
	Aspect-oriented programming with Eclipse and the AspectJ Development Tools</a>
	</li>
	<li>
	<a href="http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/aspectjckbk/">The AspectJ Cookbook</a>
	</li>
	<li>
	<a href="http://www.awprofessional.com/title/0321268881">Aspect-Oriented Software
	Development with Use Cases</a>
	</li>
	<li>
	<a href="http://www.aw-bc.com/catalog/academic/product/0,1144,0321246748,00.html">
	Aspect-Oriented Analysis and Design</a>
	</li>
	</ul>

	<p>In addition, AspectJ 5 benefits from a wide body of research, ranging from core
	aspect-oriented programming and design, to tools support such as refactorings, and an
	additional compiler called abc <i>
	<a href="#abc">(4)</a>
	</i>for the AspectJ language developed jointly by Oxford University, McGill, and Aarhus University.</p>

	<p>An increasing number of universities are also now teaching aspect-oriented programming
	courses using AspectJ, creating a flow of students into industry with knowledge of AOP.</p>

	<table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
	<tr>
	<td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
	<font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica"> Frequently Asked Questions</font></b></td>
	</tr>
	</table>

	<ol>
	<li><a href="#q1">What does it mean for AspectJ 5 to support more than one development style?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q2">Why should an existing AspectJ user be interested in the @AspectJ annotations?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q3">Can I use both the code style and the @AspectJ annotation style in the same application?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q4">Will AJDT support the new annotation-based style?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q5">Will I be forced to use Eclipse to develop AspectJ applications?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q6">How hard will it be to port existing AspectWerkz applications to AspectJ 5?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q7">When can I begin moving my AspectWerkz applications to AspectJ 5?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q8">What about the doclet syntax that AspectWerkz supports?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q9">Will AspectJ 5 support aop.xml deployment descriptors?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q10">Will you support an XML syntax for defining aspects too?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q11">Will the existing AspectWerkz releases continue to be supported?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q12">What will happen to the AspectWerkz project / website / ... ?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q13">Will the compile/weave/runtime performance of AspectJ be impacted?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#q14">Our company relies on AspectJ, will all these changes destabilize the implementation in
	any way?</a></li>
	</ol>

	<p><b><a name="q1"/>1). What does it mean for AspectJ 5 to support more than one development style?</b></p>

	<p>The code style and the annotation style using the @AspectJ annotations are just two
	alternate spellings for the same semantics. The same compilation, weaving and tools
	support will be used for both - and anything you learn in one style will transfer easily
	into the other.</p>

	<p>Users who are not able to adopt the code-based style of development will be able to
	continue developing in a familiar style, but take advantage of the AspectJ 5 tools and
	the large body of training materials around the AspectJ language - since examples
	written using the code style will readily move across into the annotation style.</p>

	<p>The following example shows a simple AspectJ aspect written using the existing code style.</p>

	<blockquote> <pre>
	public aspect Authorization {

	pointcut restrictedOperation() : execution(* IRestrictedAccess+.*(..));

	before() : restrictedOperation() {
	// verify caller is authorized to access this
	// operation ...
	}
	}
	</pre></blockquote>

	<p>Using the @AspectJ annotations, the same aspect may be written as:</p>

	<blockquote><pre>
	@Aspect
	public class Authorization {

	@Pointcut("execution(* IRestrictedAccess+.*(..))")
	void restrictedOperation() {}

	@Before("restrictedOperation()")
	public void verifyAccess() {
	// verify caller is authorized to access this
	// operation ...
	}
	}
	</pre></blockquote>

	<p>The important thing to note here is that both programs mean <i>exactly</i> the same thing
	- they are semantically equivalent. They will both be treated in an identical manner by
	the compiler, weaver, and IDE tools.</p>

	<p>Though we doubt this mix will be recommended, you could also use the annotation style and
	the code style in combination within a single source file - since they are both part of
	the one single AspectJ language.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q2"/>2). Why should an existing AspectJ user be interested in the @AspectJ annotations?</b></p>

	<p>An existing AspectJ user may benefit from the @AspectJ annotations when introducing
	AspectJ to a project where the team are not able to change IDE, compilers etc.</p>

	<p>The @AspectJ annotations will be easier to work with in tools such as IntelliJ that do
	not yet provide any AspectJ support.</p>

	<p>The @AspectJ annotations will be less likely to interfere with non-AspectJ aware source
	code processing tools that your project team may use.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q3"/>3). Can I use both the code style and the @AspectJ annotation style in the same application?</b></p>

	<p>Yes. You will be able to use aspects developed with the code style and aspects developed
	with the @AspectJ annotations in the same application. Combining these within the same
	source file will be possible but not recommended.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q4"/>4). Will AJDT support the new annotation-based style?</b></p>

	<p>Yes. Eclipse itself will provide support annotations on Java classes as part of its Java
	5 support. The AJDT crosscutting views will work for programs developed using any
	combination of the styles.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q5"/>5). Will I be forced to use Eclipse to develop AspectJ applications?</b></p>

	<p>No. The AspectJ project is strongly committed to providing developers the tools they need
	whether they use an IDE or not. AspectJ has always included a command-line compiler and
	dedicated support for ant builds, and this will not change with AspectJ 5.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q6"/>6). How hard will it be to port existing AspectWerkz applications to AspectJ 5?</b></p>

	<p>The @AspectJ annotations have been designed to be as close as possible to the AspectWerkz
	syntax, while still preserving the semantics of the AspectJ language.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q7"/>7). When can I begin moving my AspectWerkz applications to AspectJ 5?</b></p>

	<p>Programs written for AspectWerkz will be able to be ported to use the @AspectJ
	annotations from the 1.5.0 release onwards (currently planned for March 2005). Support
	for some of the existing AspectWerkz deployment and runtime facilities will be available
	at that time, with further enhancements coming in follow-on releases.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q8"/>8). What about the doclet syntax that AspectWerkz supports?</b></p>

	<p>Doclet support is not planned for the initial 1.5.0 release, but is a relatively easy
	extension once support for the @AspectJ annotation style has been implemented. We plan
	to make this feature available in a follow-on release shortly after 1.5.0.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q9"/>9). Will AspectJ 5 support aop.xml deployment descriptors?</b></p>

	<p>Yes. The XML-based deployment descriptors are an important piece of the J2EE integration
	story. AspectJ 5 will also support configuration via aop.properties files for
	environments where an XML parsing infrastructure is not available.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q10"/>10). Will you support an XML syntax for defining aspects too?</b></p>

	<p>AspectJ 5 will provide support for defining concrete sub-aspects in aop.xml files. These
	must extend existing abstract aspects, and provide definitions for all abstract
	pointcuts defined in those aspects. See the AspectJ 5 Developer's Notebook for more details.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q11"/>11). Will the existing AspectWerkz releases continue to be supported?</b></p>

	<p>Yes. There will be an AspectWerkz 2.0 final release, and this will be supported. We will
	ensure that the migration path from AspectWerkz 2.0 to AspectJ 5 is as smooth as possible.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q12"/>12). What will happen to the AspectWerkz project / website / ... ?</b></p>

	<p>It will remain hosted and maintained at <a
	href="http://aspectwerkz.codehaus.org/">http://aspectwerkz.codehaus.org</a> in support
	of the AspectWerkz releases. Information relating to AspectJ 5 will be on the
	<a href="http://www.eclipse.org/aspectj">AspectJ</a> website.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q13"/>13). Will the compile/weave/runtime performance of AspectJ be impacted?</b></p>

	<p>No. Our target is for AspectJ 5 compile / weave / runtime performance to be as good or
	better than what can be achieved with AspectJ 1.2 today.</p>

	<p><b><a name="q14"/>14). Our company relies on AspectJ, will all these changes destabilize the implementation in
	any way?</b></p>

	<p>No. The changes described in this documented are incremental changes on top of the
	existing AspectJ codebase.</p>

	<table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
	<tr>
	<td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
	<font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica"> References</font></b></td>
	</tr>
	</table>

	<p><a name="aspectj">[1]</a> <a href="http://www.eclipse.org/aspectj">AspectJ</a></p>
	<p><a name="aspectwerkz">[2]</a> <a
	href="http://aspectwerkz.codehaus.org">AspectWerkz</a></p>
	<p><a name="ajdkNotebook">[3]</a> <a
	href="http://dev.eclipse.org/viewcvs/indextech.cgi/~checkout~/aspectj-home/doc/ajdk15notebook/index.html">AspectJ
	5 Developer's Notebook</a> </p>
	<p><a name="abc">[4]</a> <a href="http://www.aspectbench.org">The AspectBench
	Compiler for AspectJ</a></p>

	<table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH="100%" >
	<tr>
	<td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#0080C0"><b>
	<font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial,Helvetica"> Trademarks</font></b></td>
	</tr>
	</table>

	<p>Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United
	States, other countries, or both.</p>

	<p>Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.</p>

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