1.3. Abstraction

In general, an abstraction is a model or ideal. You don't have all of the details, but you have the general parameters that can be filled in with details. Further, an abstraction is clear enough for you to tell one abstraction from another. Take, for example, two jobs your company is trying to fill. One's for a Web designer and the other's for a programmer. To advertise for the position, you would not describe the person as a specific person but instead in terms of the characteristics you want for the position. You might have the two abstractions representing the two different positions:

Two Positions Open:

• Programmer

• Experienced with multi-programmer projects

• Experienced with middleware and database programming

• ECMAScript programming background

• OOP and Design Pattern programming skills

• Web designer

• Experienced with creating Web graphics

• Familiar with animation graphics

• Can work with vector graphics

• Client-centered approach