Problems, Subproblems and Concerns Position Paper submitted to Early Aspects 2004

Abstract. Inevitably, aspect-oriented programming has focused on solutions; ‘early aspects’ aims to focus on problems. This position paper sketches how problems may be understood from a perspective based on problem frames. Problem analysis from this perspective reveals structural issues in a clearer light. It leads to a need for composition, both in the problem world and in the solution world. The goals of aspect technology would be clarified by such analysis, and the aspect technology may in turn offer some power in understanding and implementing the compositions. 1. The Machine and the Problem World The goal of a software development is to produce a system to satisfy some requirement. The system may be regarded as having two fundamentally distinct parts. The machine consists of the software to be built, executed by one or more general-purpose computers. The problem world is where the problem is located: it is here that the machine’s behaviour will take effect and the success of the system must be evaluated. Essentially, the problem world is given1; the machine is what we must construct. This view [Jac00] can be represented in a simple diagram