Aspect-oriented programming (AOP) has been proposed as a technique for improving separation of concerns in software design and implementation. AOP works by providing explicit mechanisms for capturing the structure of crosscutting concerns.

Using traditional techniques the implementation of concerns like exception handling, multi-object protocols, synchronization, and resource sharing tends to be spread out across the source code. The lack of modularity for these concerns makes them more difficult to develop and maintain.

This tutorial will show how to use aspect-oriented programming to implement concerns like these in a concise modular way. We will discuss the effect aspect have on code modularity and on software design. The tutorial will work with AspectJ, a freely available aspect-oriented extension to the Java(tm) programming language. Numerous examples will be used to develop participant's understanding of AspectJ and AOP. The tutorial will conclude with a more open ended exploration of issues in AOP research.