TRIVIAL AOP framework for Dart

A very simple AOP framework for Dart.

Premise

Dart has transformers. They're used for several different purposes but one of the most common is to inject code. AOP should be a better framework for doing this kind of things.

Usage

Declare your aspect anywhere in your code, for example:

import "package:aop/aop.dart";

@aspect    
class MySampleAspect {

 @Pointcut(const AnnotationMatches("pippo"))
 executeAround(InvocationContext context, Function proceed) {
  print("BEFORE (myAspect)");
  var res = proceed();
  print("AFTER (myAspect)");
  return res;
 }
}

This defines an aspect that will print a message before and after execution of any method in your code that is annotated with @pippo.

An aspect is just a class annotated with @aspect.

Pointcut are defined using the annotation @Pointcut. The annotation constructor argument is a const expression that defines the pointcut.

At the moment the expression is limited to:

• NameMatches to match the method name (using a regexp)
• AnnotationMatches to match an annotation of the method
• IsGetter / IsSetter to check if the method is a getter or setter
• And, Or, Not try to guess ?

Also you can only write around pointcut for method. Using IsGetter or IsSetter on a property will cause the pointcut to be called for both read and write operation on that property. The InvocationContext will have a getter or setter property set to true to distinguish the one from the other.

For example aop can be used to automatically call set method on a polymer 1.0 component:

 @aspect
class AutoSetter {
  @Pointcut(const And(const [const AnnotationMatches("property"), const IsGetter()]))
  callSetter(InvocationContext context, Function proceed) {
    if(context.setter) {
      (context.target as PolymerElement).set(
          context.methodName, context.positionalParameters[0]);
      //context.target.set()
    }
  }
}

the transformer

To inject pointcut executions a trasformer need to be added to your pubspec configuration. The trasformer needs a list of entry_points to be configured. It uses initialize so if used with polymer there's nothing else to do, otherwise you have to add initialize trasformer too.

For example:

transformers:
 - aop:
    entry_points: web/index.dart
 - polymer:
    entry_points: web/index.html

entry point

The main entry point needs to call initialize run method to get the aop framework properly initialized, for example:

main() async {
  await run();

  await initPolymer();
}

next step

More expressions (for example class selector, annotation on classes). Aspect lifecycle and scope. Support for property. Support for mixin injection.