Abstraction layer

In computing, an abstraction layer or abstraction level is a way of hiding the implementation details of a particular set of functionality, allowing the separation of concerns to facilitate interoperability and platform independence. Software models that use layers of abstraction include the OSI 7-layer model for computer network protocols, the OpenGL graphics drawing library, and the byte stream input/output (I/O) model originated by Unix and adopted by MS-DOS, Linux, and most other modern operating systems.

In the Unix operating system, most types of input and output operations are considered to be streams of bytes read from a device or written to a device. This stream of bytes model is used for file I/O, socket I/O, and terminal I/O in order to provide device independence. In order to read and write to a device at the application level, the program calls a function to open the device which may be a real device such as a terminal or a virtual device such as a network port or a file in a file system. The device's physical characteristics are mediated by the operating system which in turn presents an abstract interface that allows the programmer to read and write bytes from/to the device. The operating system then performs the actual transformation needed to read and write the stream of bytes to the device.