Software Architect's Handbook

Compile-time weaving

AOP tools that employ compile-time weaving perform an additional step to attach aspects after a program is compiled. A program is first compiled as it normally is, resulting in a DLL or EXE. Once the program has been compiled, it is run through a post-compilation process. This process is handled by a post-processor that is provided with an AOP tool.

The post-processor takes the DLL or EXE and adds the aspects to it. Using configuration, the post-processor knows where to apply the advice, such as before a method is executed or when an exception is thrown. The resulting DLL/EXE has both the logic for the core concern and all of the advice:

One of the benefits of compile-time weaving is that there is no overhead during ...