AspectJ^TM

Version @build.version.long@ released on @build.date@.

1 Contents of this Package

• the <aspectj install dir>/bin directory has scripts for
  • ajc: the compiler for the AspectJ language
  • ajbrowser: a graphical editor for compiling programs with ajc and navigating the crosscutting structure of those programs
• the directory <aspectj install dir>/lib has the AspectJ binaries,
  • aspectjtools.jar: libraries for ajc, ajbrowser, and the Ant tasks
  • aspectjrt.jar: runtime library for AspectJ programs
• the directory <aspectj install dir>/doc has examples, programming and development environment guides, instructions for the Ant tasks, a README for 1.1 changes, and a quick reference, all linked from the index page.
• this README-AspectJ.html, and
• the LICENSE-AspectJ.html applying to this distribution.

2 Install Procedure

The AspectJ tools ajc and ajbrowser are Java programs that can be run indirectly from the scripts or directly from aspectjtools.jar. The aspectjrt.jar needs to be on the classpath when compiling or running programs compiled by ajc. This procedure shows ways to do that.

After finishing automatic installation, we recommend that the following steps to complete your installation:

2.1 Add <aspectj install dir>/lib/aspectjrt.jar to your class path

This small .jar file contains classes required to compile programs with the ajc compiler, and to run programs compiled with the ajc compiler. You must have these classes somewhere on your class path when running programs compiled with ajc. For detailed instructions please see the Configuration Instructions at the bottom of this document.

2.2 Put the AspectJ bin directory on your PATH

Modify your PATH to include <aspectj install dir>/bin. This will make it easier to run ajc. For detailed instructions please see the Configuration Instructions at the bottom of this document.

2.3 Review the documentation and examples

Development and programming guides are available in docs, and example programs and an Ant script are available in examples.

If you did not use the automatic installation process, you may wish to create short launch scripts to start ajc easily (section 3).

3. Running the Tools

If you did not use the automatic installation process or the default launch scripts do not work on your system, you may wish to create short launch scripts to start ajc easily.

You can also run the aspectjtools.jar directly using java's -jar option:

C:\jdk1.3\bin\java.exe -jar D:\aspectj\lib\aspectjtools.jar %*

With no arguments or only argument list (.lst) files, this will launch ajbrowser, the GUI structure browser; otherwise, it will run ajc, the AspectJ compiler. This means that if your browser is set up to run jar files, clicking a link to lib/aspectjtools.jar will launch ajbrowser.

You can also create scripts like those created by the installer. These scripts use full paths that are system dependent so you will likely have to change these.

Here's a sample launch script for WinNT and Win2K (note that this is single line in the .bat file):

C:\jdk1.3\bin\java.exe -classpath D:\aspectj\lib\aspectjtools.jar -Xmx64M org.aspectj.tools.ajc.Main %*

Here's a sample launch script for a Unix shell (on Linux using Sun's JDK1.3):

/usr/java/jdk1.3/jre/bin/java -classpath /home/aspectj/lib/aspectjtools.jar -Xmx64M org.aspectj.tools.ajc.Main "$@"

4. Configuration Instructions

4.1 Adding <aspectj install dir>/lib/aspectjrt.jar to your classpath

There are several ways to add this jar file to your classpath:

• copy aspectjrt.jar to the jdk/jre/lib/ext directory
• add aspectjrt.jar to your CLASSPATH environment variable (see the next section for details)
• always use the "-classpath aspectjrt.jar" option when running programs compiled with ajc

4.2 Setting the Environment Variables on Windows

The following instructions use the PATH variable as an example, but this process is identical for the CLASSPATH variable.

You can do the variables permanently for all the shells that you will run or temporarily only for the current shell. To change the PATH only in the current shell, and assuming you've installed AspectJ in C:\apps\aspectj, type:

> set PATH=%PATH%;C:\apps\aspectj\bin

Changing Environment Variables Permanently on WinNT and Win2000

• open the Environment Variables dialog

  • WinNT: in "Control Panels" double-click "System" and select the "Environment" tab

  • Win2K: in "Control Panels" double-click "System", select the "Advanced" tab and click the "Environment Variables..." button

• select the environment variable for editing, or add it using the "New..." button if it does not exist

• add the new entry separated from the others by a semi-colon (;) and close the dialog

• note that the change will not affect shells that were already running

Changing Environment Variables Permanently on Win9x

• open the AUTOEXEC.BAT with an editor such as NotePad

• edit the PATH statement to include the new entry and save the file, e.g.
  

  PATH C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\;C:\DOS;C:\apps\aspectj\bin

• note that the change will not affect shells that were already running