Background:
Aspect-oriented programming promises to enhance the extensibility and reusability
of code through the removal of tangled and crosscutting code. Determining the degree of coupling for Aspect-
Oriented Systems (AOSs) would assist in the quantification of various software attributes and hence
improve quality.
Objective:
The research aims to present a novel Aspect-oriented System Coupling Metric (COAO), that calculates
the coupling for the complete aspect-oriented system as a whole, based on the properties of elements
and the relationships among them.
Methods:
The process of defining a metric essentially requires a clear, unambiguous definition of primary
and relevant concepts related to Aspect-Oriented Programming. As such, first and foremost, novel definitions
of basic concepts such as system, element, relation, module, and attribute are specified concerning Aspect-
Oriented Programming. Subsequently, a metric for Aspect-Oriented System Coupling is proposed.
Subsequently, the proposed metric is validated theoretically against Braiand properties for coupling of software
systems. Finally, an illustration for calculation of the proposed metric is demonstrated using an exemplary
aspect-oriented system.
Results:
The findings reveal that the proposed Aspect-Oriented Coupling metric conforms to the five Property-
Based software engineering measurements given by Braiand et al. for coupling. This indicates that the
proposed metric for the Aspect-oriented System Coupling metric COAO is a valid metric for measuring coupling
in Aspect-oriented Software Systems.
Conclusion:
Results of validation along with the supportive illustration show that single metric to assess
coupling for the complete Aspect-oriented Software System is theoretically sound and also easies the calculation
of coupling of a software system.
An Assessment of Maintainability of an Aspect-Oriented System
