The document discusses aspect-oriented programming (AOP) and introduces some key AOP concepts. It describes how AOP aims to increase modularity by allowing the separation of cross-cutting concerns. It defines cross-cutting concerns as system-level requirements that cut across multiple modules. Aspect-oriented programming uses aspects to modularize cross-cutting concerns, reducing code scattering and tangling. The document provides an example of how AOP can be used to implement an observer pattern in a drawing application to better separate concerns.