Specifying and identifying widely used crosscutting concerns

Compared to existing approaches, our solution is flexible and achieves higher precision in detecting crosscutting concerns. Moreover, it provides the developer with an accurate identification of snippets of code which can be removed from classes and embedded into aspects. The proposed solution has been validated by applying it to a case study, i.e., a large extant software system, suitably selected to assess the quality attained by the aspect-oriented version produced with the assistance of our tool, in comparison with a design performed by expert human developers.