AspectJ- combining method annotation and set field

Question

I have a requirement where in I need to time various method calls into a time series db.

For the same, I have created 2 annotations one for the method call:

@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
@Target(ElementType.METHOD)
public @interface Auditable {

    String event();
    String entity();
}

and another one for a field

@Target(ElementType.FIELD)
@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
public @interface Id {
   String id();
}

The reason I need the @ID annotation is that, the id field to be pushed to influx db would be known only at run time.

So, in my method, something like this would happen:

@Id
String key;

@Auditable(event="xxx",entity="yyy")
public void methodToBeIntercepted(){
   String key = <logic to generate key>;
}

The idea that I wanted to use was add an annotation advice along with a field set advice.

@After("@annotation(auditable) && (set(@<package>.ID java.lang.String sample..*.*) && args(id))")
public void pointcutMethod(Auditable auditable,String id){
}

But the flow is never entering into the pointCutMEthod. If I change the condition to || above, then it enters but it clearly suggests that only 1 condition would be true at any given point of time.

What is it that I am doing wrongly here?

Answer 1

Your analysis is correct: The advice will never trigger. It just cannot because the two pointcuts you combine are mutually exclusive: Where @Auditable is (method call or execution) is a different joinpoint from set(). What you intend to express is the following: "Intercept member variable assignment within the control flow of a method execution." I.e. you need cflow(@annotation(auditable)).

Annotations and driver application:

package de.scrum_master.app;

import java.lang.annotation.ElementType;
import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
import java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy;
import java.lang.annotation.Target;

@Target(ElementType.FIELD)
@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
public @interface Id {
  String id();
}

package de.scrum_master.app;

import java.lang.annotation.ElementType;
import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
import java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy;
import java.lang.annotation.Target;

@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
@Target(ElementType.METHOD)
public @interface Auditable {
  String event();
  String entity();
}

package de.scrum_master.app;

public class Application {
  @Id(id = "my ID")
  String key;

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Application application = new Application();
    application.methodToBeIntercepted();
  }

  @Auditable(event = "xxx", entity = "yyy")
  public void methodToBeIntercepted() {
    key = "I am the key";
  }
}

Aspect:

package de.scrum_master.aspect;

import org.aspectj.lang.JoinPoint;
import org.aspectj.lang.annotation.After;
import org.aspectj.lang.annotation.Aspect;

import de.scrum_master.app.Auditable;

@Aspect
public class MyAspect {
  @After("cflow(@annotation(auditable)) && set(@de.scrum_master.app.Id String de.scrum_master..*.*) && args(id)")
  public void pointcutMethod(JoinPoint thisJoinPoint, Auditable auditable, String id) {
    System.out.println(thisJoinPoint);
    System.out.println("  " + auditable);
    System.out.println("  " + id);
  }
}

Console log:

set(String de.scrum_master.app.Application.key)
  @de.scrum_master.app.Auditable(event=xxx, entity=yyy)
  I am the key