Data Structures and Algorithms
with Object-Oriented Design Patterns in Java 
It is said that ``computer science is [the] science of abstraction[2].'' But what exactly is abstraction? Abstraction is ``the idea of a quality thought of apart from any particular object or real thing having that quality''[9]. For example, we can think about the size of an object without knowing what that object is. Similarly, we can think about the way a car is driven without knowing its model or make.
Abstraction is used to suppress irrelevant details while at the same time emphasizing relevant ones. The benefit of abstraction is that it makes it easier for the programmer to think about the problem to be solved.
Copyright © 1998 by Bruno R. Preiss, P.Eng. All rights reserved.