Reflection and Aspects meet again: Runtime Reflective Mechanisms for Dynamic Aspects

Distributed applications and middleware systems typically involve language and system-wide heterogeneity e.g. different platforms (PC, PDA, embedded devices, etc.). Dynamic adaptation of distributed systems at run-time is a common approach to deal with the resultant environmental conditions. Dynamic aspects have been identified as a technique to address this problem. In such kind of applications, advices cannot be considered as a simple ‘piece of code ’ as it might be in single-language AOP approaches; instead advices should be realised in different ways in distinct parts of the system depending upon the platform, language, and dynamics of program execution. This position paper discusses the use of a suit of orthogonal meta-level models as the basis to provide different reflective implementation mechanisms for supporting AOP approaches in a language and platform independent fashion