Towards a Classification of Aspects

With the aim for promoting separation of crosscutting concerns, the notion of aspects are currently introduced throughout the lifecycle of software development, even to other domains. Many aspects are found, designed or implemented thereby. As the concrete specification and implementation mechanisms vary greatly among aspects, it is relatively complex and difficult to compare them. This paper provides a frame for classifying different aspects. The frame characterizes aspects through multi-dimensions at the more abstract level. Based on the frame, this work classifies many typical aspects proposed in the literature.