Hasamuddin Afzali

Abstraction is one of the core concepts of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), and it helps manage complexity in large systems. In simple terms, abstraction is the process of hiding unnecessary details and showing only the essential features of an object. It allows programmers to interact with objects at a higher level of functionality without worrying about the implementation details.

Key Points:

Simplification: Abstraction allows us to focus on what an object does rather than how it does it.
Separation of concerns: By abstracting the implementation details, we can separate the complexity of how the system works from how we use it.
Class Interface: In OOP, abstraction is often achieved using abstract classes and interfaces. An abstract class can define methods that must be implemented by any subclass, while an interface only defines the methods but doesn’t provide any implementation.

Example in C#:

// Abstract class
public abstract class Animal
{
    // Abstract method (no implementation)
    public abstract void Sound();
}

// Derived class
public class Dog : Animal
{
    // Providing implementation for the abstract method
    public override void Sound()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Bark");
    }
}

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Creating an object of the derived class
        Animal myDog = new Dog();
        myDog.Sound();  // Output: Bark
    }
}

In this example:

Animal is an abstract class that provides a blueprint for other animal types.
The Sound() method is abstract, meaning that each specific animal type (like Dog) must define its own version of Sound().
Abstraction here allows us to deal with the Animal object without worrying about whether it's a dog, cat, or any other type of animal.

Understanding Abstraction in Object-Oriented Programming

Key Points:

Example in C#: