Checking LoD in AspectJ

• Show the idea, not the details.

• How can we precisely express it in a programming language?

An adaptive aspect:Law of Demeter Checker

(Object Form)aspect Check { … after(): MethodCallSite{ // call (* *(..)); // check whether // thisJoinPoint.getTarget() // is a preferred supplier // object}

How can we capture all calls?

pointcut MethodCallSite(): scope() && call(* *(..));

BUT: how to avoid checking calls in Java libraries?

Avoiding the Java libraries

pointcut IgnoreCalls(): call(* java..*.*(..));pointcut MethodCallSite(): scope() && call(* *(..)) && !IgnoreCalls();

AspectJ from PARC

AJJ

EMETERJ

(Demeter AspectJ)

Measuring Performance

• Traversals implemented in DemeterJ, DJ, DAJ

• Vary the size of the Object Graph

• Measure the elapsed time between start and finish

• SunBlade 100 running SunOS 5.8

Performance Comparison

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5000

10000

15000

20000

5000 10000 15000 20000

Object Graph Size

Ela

pse

Tim

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s)

DemeterJ

DJ

DAJ

DemeterJ and AJ Performance

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20

40

60

80

5000 10000 15000 20000

Object Graph Size

Elap

sed

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DemeterJ

DAJ

Performance Comparison

OG Size DemeterJ DJ DAJ5000 23 3577 3210000 40 7908 4815000 55 11863 6220000 60 14905 70

Complex Request Interfaces

• Benefits– Decoupling of details– Optimization, conseq of decoupling– Remote invocation

Complex Request Interfaces

• We distinguish between two kinds of complex request interfaces– Aspectual -> advice: They define code that will

be invoked implicitly. Visitor.– Normal: They define code that will be invoked

explicitly. Example: SQL, Traversal strategy.– Pc cri

Complex Request Interfaces

• We distinguish between two kinds of complex request interfaces– Normal: They define code that will be invoked

explicitly. Example: SQL, Traversal strategy.– Aspectual

• Advice: They define code that will be invoked implicitly. Demeter C++ wrapper bodies, COOL coordinators.

• Connection: They define when implicit invocation will take place. Demeter/C++ wrapper signatures (e.g., wrapper -> *,*,B /* all edges of a traversal entering B */), AspectJ Pointcuts

Selectors

• Better name for– Pointcut designators: select nodes of dynamic

call tree– Traversal strategies:

• select nodes and edges of object graph or class graph

• Select nodes of dynamic call tree

Mitch’s view

• Pcd is a predicate on join points; join point may contain entire stack

• For one execution

• Does not select trees

• Demeter style selector expressions are useful for dynamic call stacks

• Stacks, not trees

• Large step semantics of lambda calculus: lambda and application

• A join point is a tree

Predefined join points

• Spread of a selector: number of different tree nodes it selects.

• Form of a selector

• Granularity

• Selectors– Selects set of nodes all getting the same advice– Selects set of node tuples each tuple element

getting element dependent advice– Selects set of nodes each node getting node

dependent advice

• graphs• trees

• Graph where node is

SS1

SS2

Examples of CR

Normal: CR Invoked explicitely

S

Connection: CR for Implicit InvocationAdvice

Cool, Errorpcd

SS1

SS2

Usage of CRI

Normal :CRI to sendrequest to S

S

Connection: CRI for Implicit InvocationAdvice: CRI to send

request to SS2

CRI 1 and 3 are of the same kind

Cool, errors

pcd

LoD paper

Karl’s viewgraphs

From a talk with a different title

Some adjustment is needed

An adaptive aspect:Law of Demeter Checker

(Object Form)aspect Check { … after(): Any.MethodCall{ // call (* *(..)); // check whether // thisJoinPoint.getTarget() // is a preferred supplier // object}

Observation• Many AspectJ programs are adaptive (designed for a

family of Java programs)– Context: Java program or its execution tree (lexical joinpoints

or dynamic join points)

• Features enabling adaptiveness: – *, .. (wildcards) – cflow, + (graph transitivity)– this(s), target(s), args(a), call (…), …– inheritance as wild card

• pc(Object s, Object t):

this(s) && target(t) && call(… f …)

Isolated join points

AspectJ crosscutting usedin Law of Demeter checker

Connected join points

Dynamic call graph

target(Object)

cflow(…)

Aspects and lexical join points

• Going to the roots of the Northeastern branch of AOP: Law of Demeter.

• Closing the circle: Write an ultimately adaptive program in AspectJ: – Works with all Java programs– Checks the object-form of the Law of Demeter:

“talk only to your friends”

Instrumentation of Java programs with Aspects

Supplier

TargetBinStack

ReturnValueBin

ArgumentBin

GlobalPreferredBin

LocallyConstructedBin

ImmediatePartBin

Checker

StatisticsRequirements:

Good Separation of Concerns in Law of Demeter Checker

Aspect Diagram

uses pointcuts

Aspect framework

Explanation

• The *bin* aspects collect potential preferred supplier objects that represent good coupling in the context of a method body.

• The Checker aspect checks each method call whether the receiver is a preferred supplier object.

• The Statistics aspect counts events generated by the Checker aspect.

Law of Demeter(Join Point Form)

JPT(ID) =

[<target> ID]

<args> List(ID)

<children> List(JPT)

[<ret> ID].

List(S) ~ {S}.

JPT(ID) =

[<target> ID]

<args> List(ID)

<children> List(JPT)

[<ret> ID].

List(S) ~ {S}.Jr1.foo1()a1.bar()t2.foo2()r3.foo2()

Etarget t2args {a1,a2}

target t2ret r1

target nullret r3

Generic Law of Demeter(Join Point Form)

Definition 1: The LoD_JPF requires that for each join point J, target(J) is a potential preferred supplier of J.

Definition 2: The set of potential preferred suppliers to a join point J, child to the enclosing join point E, is the union of the objects in the following sets:

• Argument rule: the args of the enclosing join point E, including the target

• Associated rule: the associated values of E: the ret values of the children of E before J whose target is the target of E or whose target is null.

Generic Law of Demeter(Join Point Form)

aspect LoD extends Violation { pointcut LoD_JPF(): //LoD definition ArgumentRule() || AssociatedRule(); pointcut ArgumentRule(): if(thisEnclosingJoinPoint.getArgs() .contains(thisJoinPoint.getTarget()); pointcut AssociatedRule(): if(thisEnclosingJoinPoint .hasSelfishChild(thisJoinPoint .getTarget()));}

Pseudo Aspect

• LoD is a ``pseudo'' aspect because it cannot run in the current implementation of AspectJ, which doesn't allow declare warning to be defined on any pointcut with an if expression.

Join Point Form

• The pointcuts ArgumentRule and AssociatedRule select the ``good'' join points.

• ArgumentRule selects those join points whose target is one of the arguments of the enclosing join point;

Join Point Form

• AssociatedRule selects those join points whose target is in the set of locally returned ID's, and the ID's created in the siblings of the current node.

Map Dynamic Object Form (DOF) to LoD_JPF

• We use LoD_JPF pointcut to check DOF: – Dynamic join point model is mapped to JPT.

• Object is mapped to ID.

• Method invocations are mapped to JPF join points. The enclosing join point is the parent in the control flow.

Map Lexical Class Form (LCF) to LoD_JPF

• We use LoD_JPF to check LCF as follows. – Lexical join point model is mapped to JPT. Lexical join points

are nodes in the abstract syntax tree

– Class is mapped to ID.

– Join points are signatures of call sites. The enclosing join point is the signature of the method in which the call site resides. To run the aspect, a suitable ordering has to be given to the elements of children:

• all constructor calls, followed by local method calls, followed by the other join points.

AspectJ code

• In AOSD 2003 paper with David Lorenz and Pengcheng Wu

• DOF: AspectJ works well. Program uses most adaptive ingredients of AspectJ: *, cflow, this, target, etc.

• LCF: AspectJ cannot do it. We sketch how to add statically executable advice to AspectJ.

package lawOfDemeter;public abstract class Any { public pointcut scope(): !within(lawOfDemeter..*) && !cflow(withincode(* lawOfDemeter..*(..))); public pointcut StaticInitialization(): scope() && staticinitialization(*); public pointcut MethodCallSite(): scope() && call(* *(..)); public pointcut ConstructorCall(): scope() && call(*.new (..)); public pointcut MethodExecution(): scope() && execution(* *(..)); public pointcut ConstructorExecution(): scope() && execution(*.new (..)); public pointcut Execution(): ConstructorExecution() || MethodExecution(); public pointcut MethodCall(Object thiz, Object target): MethodCallSite() && this(thiz) && target(target);

public pointcut SelfCall(Object thiz, Object target): MethodCall(thiz, target) && if(thiz == target); public pointcut StaticCall(): scope() && call(static * *(..)); public pointcut Set(Object value): scope() && set(* *.*) && args(value); public pointcut Initialization(): scope() && initialization(*.new(..));}

Class Any continued

package lawOfDemeter.objectform;import java.util.*;abstract class ObjectSupplier { protected boolean containsValue(Object supplier){ return targets.containsValue(supplier); } protected void add(Object key,Object value){ targets.put(key,value); } protected void addValue(Object supplier) { add(supplier,supplier); } protected void addAll(Object[] suppliers) { for(int i=0; i< suppliers.length; i++) addValue(suppliers[i]); } private IdentityHashMap targets = new IdentityHashMap();}

package lawOfDemeter.objectform;public aspect Pertarget extends ObjectSupplier pertarget(Any.Initialization()) { before(Object value): Any.Set(value) { add(fieldIdentity(thisJoinPointStaticPart), value); } public boolean contains(Object target) { return super.containsValue(target) || Percflow.aspectOf().containsValue(target); } private String fieldIdentity(JoinPoint.StaticPart sp) { … } private static HashMap fieldNames = new HashMap();}

package lawOfDemeter.objectform;aspect Check { private pointcut IgnoreCalls(): call(* java..*.*(..)); private pointcut IgnoreTargets(): get(static * java..*.*); after() returning(Object o):IgnoreTargets() { ignoredTargets.put(o,o); } after(Object thiz,Object target): Any.MethodCall(thiz, target) && !IgnoreCalls() { if (!ignoredTargets.containsKey(target) && !Pertarget.aspectOf(thiz).contains(target)) System.out.println( " !! LoD Object Violation !! " + thisJoinPointStaticPart/*[*/ + at(thisJoinPointStaticPart)/*]*/); } private IdentityHashMap ignoredTargets = new IdentityHashMap();}

package lawOfDemeter.objectform;aspect Percflow extends ObjectSupplier percflow(Any.Execution() || Any.Initialization()){ before(): Any.Execution() { addValue(thisJoinPoint.getThis()); addAll(thisJoinPoint.getArgs()); } after() returning (Object result): Any.SelfCall(Object,Object) || Any.StaticCall() || Any.ConstructorCall() { addValue(result); }}

Conclusions

• Aspects and adaptiveness must work closely together to achieve best results. Crosscutting is closely linked to adaptiveness.

• AP is a specialization of AOP and AOP is a specialization of AP. It goes both ways.

• AspectJ is a really useful language but we are a little concerned about how difficult it was to debug the Law of Demeter checkers.