# AspectJ Documentation and Resources

AspectJ tm is a seamless aspect-oriented extension to Javatm. The compiler and development tools are available under an open-source license, require Java 1.3 to run, and produce code that runs in JDK 1.1 and later VM's. For the latest materials, see http://eclipse.org/aspectj. Not all of these materials have been updated for AspectJ 5.

Section | Contents
docs | FAQ, Quick Reference (AspectJ 5), Quick Reference (1.2.1), AspectJ 5 Developer's Notebook, programming, development and problem diagnosis guides, API and example code.
distributions | AspectJ; development environment support for Eclipse and JDeveloper.
resources | aosd.net; AspectJ project the bug db, and mailing lists for users and developers.
paths | for those new to AspectJ

### AspectJ documentation

Documentation | Description
--- | ---
AspectJ 5 Quick Reference | This is a four-page quick reference for the AspectJ 5 language.
AspectJ Quick Reference | This is a two-page quick reference for the AspectJ language.
AspectJ 5 Developer's Notebook (printable html) | This describes the changes to the AspectJ language and tools introduced in the AspectJ 5 Development Kit. These changes are additive, and are not yet reflected in the programming guide or quick reference.
Programming Guide (printable html) | This introduces AOP and the AspectJ language. Getting Started describes basic semantics, and shows development- and production-time applications. The AspectJ Language describes join points, pointcuts, advice, and introduction, all features new to AOP. Examples walks you through the examples included with the documentation, and there are two short chapters on useful Idioms and a few Pitfalls The appendices have reference information: the Quick Reference summarizes AspectJ syntax, the Language Semantics best describes AspectJ usage, and Implementation Notes describes how the current version is limited to code the compiler controls.
Development Environment Guide (printable html) | This is a guide to ajc, the command-line compiler; ajbrowser, the stand-alone GUI for compiling and viewing crosscutting structure; and the Ant tasks for building AspectJ programs.
Problem Diagnosis Guide (printable html) | This has a guide to the various features available such as messages and trace to help you both solve problems with you own programs and report bugs to the AspectJ team.
AspectJ API | API documentation for AspectJ runtime classes. `JoinPoint` shows the state automatically available at each join point. See also the Weaver API
FAQ | Frequently-asked questions about the AspectJ language, tools, and project.
README's | Changes and porting guide for AspectJ 1.6.3, 1.6.2, 1.6.1, 1.6.0, 1.5.4, 1.5.3, 1.5.2, 1.5.1, 1.5.0, 1.2.1, 1.2.0, 1.1, and 1.0.
Changes | Changes between the latest releases.
Examples | AspectJ code to demonstrate some language features and implement JavaBean properties, the Observer pattern, a tracing library, and a game application where aspects handle display updating.

### AspectJ distributions

Distributions | Description
--- | ---
AspectJ | The AspectJ distribution contains binaries for the compiler, structure browser, and Ant taskdefs, as well as the documentation and examples.
AspectJ source code | Source code for AspectJ is available under the open-source Eclipse Public License v1.0 license from the CVS repositories for the AspectJ project. See the FAQ entry.
AspectJ for Eclipse | AspectJ Development Environment support for Eclipse is available under Eclipse Public License v1.0 from the eclipse.org project site http://eclipse.org/ajdt
Support for the JDeveloper IDE | Support for programming in AspectJ using the JDeveloper IDE is available under the Apache Software License from the java.net project site https://jdeveloperaop.dev.java.net/

### Other AspectJ resources

Resources | Description
--- | ---
Mail lists | AspectJ users discuss tips and best practices for writing AspectJ programs on aspectj-users@eclipse.org. AspectJ developers discuss issues with developing the AspectJ tools on aspectj-dev@eclipse.org. To get occasional emails about AspectJ releases and relevant events, subscribe to `aspectj-announce@eclipse.org`. To view list archives or subscribe to the list, go to the AspectJ home page. To find archived emails, use the Eclipse site search page.
Bug database | Use the Eclipse project's Bugzilla database to view and submit bugs against the AspectJ product components Compiler (for the AspectJ compiler, ajc) IDE (for AJBrowser and AJDE bugs), Ant (for the Ant tasks), and Docs (for the documentation). Bugs all users should know about are flagged with the "info" keyword. See the FAQ entry for instructions on submitting compiler bugs.
http://aosd.net - the AOSD web site | This site has discussion and announcements related to aspect-oriented software development (AOSD) in general. Use announce@aosd.net to get and publish notices about AOSD workshops, conferences, and technology releases. Use discuss@aosd.net for general AOSD discussions.

### Suggested paths for those new to AspectJ

To learn the AspectJ language, read the Programming Guide, keeping the Semantics appendix nearby as the best reference for AspectJ usage. Focus initially on the join point model and pointcuts, concepts AOP adds to OOP. To read about how the examples work, see the Examples section in the Programming Guide. View and navigate the crosscutting structure using AJDT; if you can't use Eclipse, try the `ajbrowser` structure viewer, as described in the AspectJ Browser section of the Development Environment Guide.

To start using AspectJ with your own code, modify the example aspects to apply to your classes. As you learn, use the compiler's `-Xlint` flags to catch some common mistakes. (Understand that the current implementation is limited to code the compiler controls.)

To plan how to adopt AspectJ into a project, read the Programming Guide on development- and production-time aspects and the FAQ entries for How should I start using AspectJ?, Deciding to adopt AspectJ, the Development tools sections (one, two, Load-time weaving ), and AspectJ as open-source.

Enjoy the language!

The AspectJ Team

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