Abstraction

A mental model of data processing and analysis

the only mental tool by means of which a very finite piece of reasoning can cover a myriad of cases is called “abstraction”

…the purpose of abstracting is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise. Edsger W. Dijkstra1)


1)
The humble programmer. Communications of the ACM 15 (1972), 859–865.