Comment on Dijkstra on the cruelty of really teaching computing science (1988)parentComments−tedunangst16y"Abstractions leak" is pretty far from what I got out of that paragraph. Actually, I don't think leaky abstractions have much to do with the fact that small changes have large consequences.−loup-vaillant16yAn abstraction that leaks is only a small change compared to the corresponding perfect abstraction. But such a small change can have big consequences.Leaky abstractions can easily be seen a subset of what Dikstra is talking about.
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"Abstractions leak" is pretty far from what I got out of that paragraph. Actually, I don't think leaky abstractions have much to do with the fact that small changes have large consequences.
An abstraction that leaks is only a small change compared to the corresponding perfect abstraction. But such a small change can have big consequences.
Leaky abstractions can easily be seen a subset of what Dikstra is talking about.