Expressing different conceptual models of join point selections in aspect-oriented design

When specifying pointcuts, i.e. join point selections, in Aspect-Oriented Software Development, developers have in different situations different conceptual models in mind. Aspect-oriented programming languages are usually capable to support only a small subset of them, but not all. In order to communicate aspect-oriented design among developers, though, it is inevitable that the underlying conceptual model used in its join point selections remains unchanged. As a solution to this dilemma, we detail three different conceptual models in this paper that are frequently used in aspect-oriented applications. These models are illustrated using sample implementations from existing literature. Then, we introduce corresponding modeling notations based on Join Point Designation Diagrams (JPDDs) which are capable to express join point selections complying to those models. Finally, we discuss the suitability of these notations to express a desired join point selection