When to use features and aspects?: a case study

Abstract

Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) and Feature-Oriented Programming (FOP) are complementary technologies that can be combined to overcome their individual limitations. Aspectual Mixin Layers (AML) is a representative approach that unifies AOP and FOP. We use AML in a non-trivial case study to create a product line of overlay networks. We also present a set of guidelines to assist programmers in how and when to use AOP and FOP techniques for implementing product lines in a stepwise and generative manner.