Editing Aspect-oriented programming (section)

== Comparison to other programming paradigms ==
Aspects emerged from [[object-oriented programming]] and [[reflective programming]]. AOP languages have functionality similar to, but more restricted than, [[Metaobject|metaobject protocols]]. Aspects relate closely to programming concepts like [[subjects (programming)|subjects]], [[mixin]]s, and [[delegation (programming)|delegation]]. Other ways to use aspect-oriented programming paradigms include [[Composition Filters]] and the [[Hyper/J|hyperslices]] approach. Since at least the 1970s, developers have been using forms of interception and dispatch-patching that resemble some of the implementation methods for AOP, but these never had the semantics that the cross-cutting specifications provide in one place. {{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}

Designers have considered alternative ways to achieve separation of code, such as [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]]'s partial types, but such approaches lack a quantification mechanism that allows reaching several join points of the code with one declarative statement.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Though it may seem unrelated, in testing, the use of mocks or stubs requires the use of AOP techniques, such as around advice. Here the collaborating objects are for the purpose of the test, a cross-cutting concern. Thus, the various Mock Object frameworks provide these features. For example, a process invokes a service to get a balance amount. In the test of the process, it is unimportant where the amount comes from, but only that the process uses the balance according to the requirements.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}