%% Last Updated: [[2021-05-28]] %% # What Does Abstraction Mean in Programming? [Readwise URL](https://readwise.io/bookreview/9290776) | [Source URL](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/21220155/what-does-abstraction-mean-in-programming) ---  --- > What is abstraction > \ > Abstracting something means to give names to things, so that the name captures the core of what a function or a whole program does. ^184371773 **References:** https://instapaper.com/read/1414711856/16514068 --- Abstraction is a core concept in all of computer science. Without abstraction, we would still be programming in machine code or worse not have computers in the first place. ^184371774 **References:** https://instapaper.com/read/1414711856/16514071 --- > The concept of a room is abstract and only exists in our head, because any room that actually exists isn't just a room; it's a bedroom or a living room or a classroom. > \ > We want our code to thus represent our "mental chunking". It makes everything a lot neater and easier to deal with. ^184371775 **References:** https://instapaper.com/read/1414711856/16514081 ---