2.1.1: thinking abstractly

• What is representational abstraction?


  A technique in which excessive details are removed to arrive at a representation of a problem that consists of only the key features
• Which form of abstraction involves grouping together similarities within a problem to identify what kind of problem it is?

  Abstraction by generalisation
• What is meant by data abstraction?

  A form of abstraction in which details about how data is being stored are hidden.
• What kind of problems make use of multiple levels of abstraction?

  Large, complex problems
• How does abstraction allow non-experts to make use of a system?


  Hides complex and irrelevant information in abstract models.
• State two advantages of using abstraction in software development

  • Easier for programmers to focus on core elements
  • Reduces the time needed to be spent on the project.
  • Prevents program from getting unnecessarily large.
• Give two applications of layers of abstraction

  • Networking (TCP/IP layer)
  • Programming languages
• State two advantages of using abstraction in programming languages

  • Easier to remember syntax in high-level languages as it is closer to natural language
  • Coding becomes accessible to beginners
• How does object-oriented programming use abstraction?

  • Objects are an abstraction for real-world entities.
  • Attributes are an abstraction for the characteristics of an object.
  • Methods are an abstraction for the actions a real-world object is able to perform.
• What is the difference between abstraction and reality?

  Abstraction is a simplified representation of reality