Abstraction Quote by Alexander Stepanov
“I still believe in abstraction, but now I know that one ends with abstraction, not starts with it”
About This Quote
Source Book: Elements of Programming by Alexander Stepanov, 1999
Abstraction is useful, but it must be applied wisely; over‑abstraction can obscure practical solutions.
In simple terms: Use abstraction, but know when to stop.
Key Takeaway
Balance abstraction with concrete implementation.
Themes
software design
abstraction
pragmatism
Mood
analytical
pragmatic
Type
technical
instructional
When to use this quote
- code refactoring
- system architecture
- teaching programming
- debugging
Key Concepts
generic programming
software engineering
Questions to Reflect On
- When does abstraction hinder rather than help?
- How can you tell when to simplify?
A Different Perspective
Too much abstraction can make code unreadable and hard to maintain.
![“Object-oriented programming aficionados think that everything is an object… this [isn't] so. There are things that are objects. Things that have state and change their state are objects. And then there are things that are not objects. A binary search is not an object. It is an algorithm” quote by Alexander Stepanov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ef9/alexander-stepanov-55292_algorithms_object-oriented-programming-aficionados_89704.jpg)
