Editing Aspect-oriented programming (section)

== Adoption issues ==

Programmers need to be able to read and understand code to prevent errors.<ref>[[Edsger Dijkstra]], [http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/ewd02xx/EWD249.PDF ''Notes on Structured Programming''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061012020239/http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/ewd02xx/EWD249.PDF |date=2006-10-12}}, pg. 1-2</ref>
Even with proper education, understanding cross-cutting concerns can be difficult without proper support for visualizing both static structure and the dynamic flow of a program.<ref name="harmful"/> Starting in 2002, AspectJ began to provide IDE plug-ins to support the visualizing of cross-cutting concerns. Those features, as well as aspect code assist and [[Code refactoring|refactoring]], are now common.

Given the power of AOP, making a logical mistake in expressing cross-cutting can lead to widespread program failure. Conversely, another programmer may change the join points in a program, such as by renaming or moving methods, in ways that the aspect writer did not anticipate and with [[unforeseen consequences]]. One advantage of modularizing cross-cutting concerns is enabling one programmer to easily affect the entire system. As a result, such problems manifest as a conflict over responsibility between two or more developers for a given failure. AOP can expedite solving these problems, as only the aspect must be changed. Without AOP, the corresponding problems can be much more spread out.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}