Beware of Over-Abstraction: The Hidden Costs in Software Development

Overuse of abstraction layers in software development can lead to performance degradation and code complexity. The article argues that good abstractions should hide underlying complexity, such as the TCP protocol. However, many so-called abstractions merely add extra layers of indirection without providing real value, increasing cognitive load, debugging difficulty, and performance overhead. The author advises developers to use abstractions judiciously, prioritizing code simplicity and performance, and avoiding abstraction for abstraction's sake.