6.11. Object-Oriented Programming in Python: Abstraction in Python

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Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm that uses "objects" to design applications and software programs. Abstraction is one of the four main concepts in OOP, along with encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism. In Python, abstraction is used to simplify complex problems by hiding unnecessary details and showing only essential information.

In object-oriented programming, abstraction is a process of hiding implementation details and displaying only the functionality to the user. In other words, it only shows the important things to the user and hides the internal details, for example, when sending a text message, we can just type the text and send the message. We don't need to know the internal process of how the message is sent.

In Python, abstraction can be achieved through abstract classes and abstract methods. An abstract class is a class that contains one or more abstract methods. An abstract method is a method that has a declaration but no implementation.

For example, let's consider an abstract class called 'Animal'. This class can have an abstract method called 'talk'. Each animal has a different way of speaking, so we cannot implement the 'speak' method in the 'Animal' class. Instead, we implement the 'talk' method in each of the classes that inherit from the 'Animal' class, such as 'Dog' and 'Cat'.

Here is an example of Python code:

from abc import ABC, abstractmethod

class Animal(ABC):
    @abstractmethod
    def speak(self):
        pass

class Dog(Animal):
    def speak(self):
        return 'Au Au'

class Cat(Animal):
    def speak(self):
        return 'Meow Meow'

In this example, 'Animal' is an abstract class that contains the abstract method 'speak'. 'Cao' and 'Gato' are subclasses of 'Animal' that implement the 'talk' method.

Abstraction is very useful when we are working with large and complex projects. It allows us to divide the problem into smaller, more manageable parts, hiding the implementation details and exposing only the necessary interfaces. This makes the code easier to understand and maintain.

In addition, abstraction also promotes code reuse. We can define a common interface for a group of related classes and reuse that interface in different parts of our program. This reduces code duplication and makes our program more efficient.

In summary, abstraction is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming in Python. It helps us simplify complex problems, hide unnecessary details, and promote code reuse. By mastering the abstraction, you will be able to write more efficient and maintainable Python programs.

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316.12. Object-Oriented Programming in Python: Interfaces in Python