Coupling Metrics for Aspect-Oriented Programming: A Systematic Review of Maintainability Studies

Over the last few years, a growing number of studies have explored how Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) might impact software maintainability. Most of the studies use coupling metrics to assess the impact of AOP mechanisms on maintainability attributes such as design stability and error proneness. Unfortunately, the use of such metrics is fraught with dangers, which have so far not been thoroughly investigated. To clarify this problem, this paper presents a systematic review of recent AOP maintainability studies. Our review consolidates data from recent research results, highlights circumstances when the applied coupling measures are suitable to AO programs and draws attention to deficiencies where coupling metrics need to be improved.