New aspect on programming

Tom Janofskky, professional consultant, and Penn State professor gave a presentation this evening on AspectJ, a java language based framework for aspect oriented programming. Aspect Oriented Programming or AOP is a new contribution to the programming world that makes up for some of the inflexibility in traditional OOP scenarios. AOP has the ability cut across a solution to add new functionality that would be very challenging to do in large OOP design. By linking to methods and higher elements such as classes and interfaces at runtime, object checks and new functionality can be added on the fly. For a better introduction, check out Tom's web site at http://www.tomjanofsky.com. AOP seems to have some obvious advantages especially for debugging and logging, but its still unclear whether I would actually plan a design around this technology. Most of Tom's examples centered on "rescuing" already deployed applications or adding new functionality by declaring an aspect file that attaches or weaves directly into the java class file. This weaving can be accomplished by inputting any java class file and an aspect file to create an executable. One obvious advantage is the separation of the aspect code from your normal code base. This makes adding and removing debugging information much easier. I'm really tempted to try this out in a nonobtrusive scenario. The tool looks very powerful, however there are many uncertain areas in AOP. There is still a lot undecided in terms of how AOP can and should be used, as well as the difficulty in maintaining AOP code that has almost invisibly attached "advice" information.

new wave cinema

One would have to be blind not to notice the sudden explosion of psycho-cinema that attempts to challenge our ordinary acceptance of the rational world with mind-twists that leave us scurrying for philosophic answers at the end. I'm no cinema buff or critic. As a matter of fact I'm lucky if I watch a single move a week. I will admit however, ever since watching mentally stimulating thrillers such as the matrix and vanilla sky, I've been hooked. But now, I'm uncertain where this wave will end? Following serveral successful films, the pscycho-cinema drama is now apparently mainstream with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon having there memories wiped way too many times, just in hopes of bringing in more blockbuster movie. I supposed every genre has freshness date, before we have to retire it for another ten or twenty years.

VS Live

I was lucky enough to attend the VSLive Orlando conference early this week and despite the blatant MS propaganda I'm not severing my ties to open source software or Java. VS Live is a three day developer conference highlighting the new features that will be available to the Visual Studio 2005 developers.

Here's a rundown of some of the topics covered and my *ahem* initial reactions....

SOA Service Oriented Architecture
Hype: Connected Systems is here to stay. Leveraging Web Services will help to create a new interoperability among business function procedures.

To me: I think this is big, maybe not OOP big but Its certainly far from being a fad. Granted I have very limited experience, but am really exciting to implement this whenever I get a chance.

Databinding:
Hype: .NET has new controls that improve existing databinding features.

To me: I really havn't found a need to bind my controls so far, so I can't get to excited about this one.

Application Blocks
Hype: Microsoft got together and decided to offer "unsupported" add ins for features such as Security, Caching, Configuration Blocks, Exception Management etc.

To me: Same as above. Havn't used them but willing to give them a try especally for Security.

Rich Clients
Hype: Abandon the thin client model, to build a more effective UI.

To me: Seems like a good idea, why waste our blazing desktop CPU power loading thin Web Applications. There are definitely tradeoffs here and it looks like we'll bounce back and forth on this issue for awhile. I tend more towards the thin side, because I like its architectural benefits, and am usually less interested in my UI.

Code Snippets
Hype: With a simple mouse click you bring up frequently used code.

To me: Looks cool. But are we really that lazy we can't copy and paste this from a source file?

Visual Studio Team Systems
Hype: Integrate Designer, Developer, and Tester tools in a single software package.

To me: There's open source software out here that accomplishes most of these tasks as well if not better.

Visual Studio Express Edition
Hype: A nearly full version of VS for the hobbyist that is both faster to load and whole lot cheaper.

To me: Sign me up!


I'll stop my rants now till I actually use this stuff. However concerning my project load and upcoming features it looks like I"ll be playing in VS 2003 land for some time to come.

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