Understanding Abstraction in Python: Data and Process Abstraction

Explore the concept of abstraction in Python, a fundamental principle of object-oriented programming. Learn how data and process abstraction help hide unnecessary details, reducing complexity and improving code efficiency.

Python - Abstraction

Abstraction is a key principle of object-oriented programming. It hides irrelevant details and exposes only essential data, reducing complexity and increasing efficiency.

Types of Abstraction

Data Abstraction: Hides the original data entity via a data structure.
Process Abstraction: Hides the implementation details of a process.

Abstract Class in Python

An abstract class cannot be instantiated but can be used as a base class. To create an abstract class, inherit from the ABC class in the abc module and include at least one abstract method decorated with @abstractmethod.

Example: Create an Abstract Class


from abc import ABC, abstractmethod

class Demo(ABC):
   @abstractmethod
   def method1(self):
      print("abstract method")
   
   def method2(self):
      print("concrete method")

Instantiating an abstract class raises a TypeError:

Output


TypeError: Can't instantiate abstract class Demo with abstract method method1

Abstract Method Overriding

The child class must override the abstract method. If not, Python throws a TypeError:

Example: Override Abstract Method


from abc import ABC, abstractmethod

class DemoClass(ABC):
   @abstractmethod
   def method1(self):
      print("abstract method")
   
   def method2(self):
      print("concrete method")

class ConcreteClass(DemoClass):
   def method1(self):
      super().method1()
      
obj = ConcreteClass()
obj.method1()
obj.method2()

Output


abstract method
concrete method