Abstraction Definition Computer Science Example

Understanding abstraction is an important skill that can be applied in several fields other than computer science such as biology art and business to break very complex processes down to a series of simpler steps that all rely on each other to function.

Abstraction definition computer science example. In one of the most prominent examples of computer science abstraction in object oriented programming abstraction often works by through the use of objects in code. Abstraction is the process of filtering out ignoring the characteristics of patterns that we dont need in order to concentrate on those that we do. Each stage can be used as a stepping stone for the next stage. The length x where x is a list say is a general representation of the process of calculating the length of some particular list.

An example of this abstraction process is the generational development of programming languages from the machine language to the assembly language and the high level language. A car is a very complex machine but the interface is simple a steering wheel a gas pedal and a gear shift. From the users perspective length x means the number of elements in x. Identifying examples of abstraction.

These objects as portable containers of attributes and repeatable code structures abstract functionality that might otherwise be programmed in a linear way. It is also the filtering out of specific. We call this procedural abstraction. Anytime you see a simple interface covering a more complex system you should think abstraction.