I would say it becomes an abstraction when it needs parameters in addition to the nominal arguments. So in the case of "addThreeTimes(i)", sure, that's just ab

I would say it becomes an abstraction when it needs parameters in addition to the nominal arguments. So in the case of "addThreeTimes(i)", sure, that's just abbreviation, but "addNtimes(i,N)" is a bona-fide abstraction. Edit: Reminds me of the distinction between inheritance and subtyping: https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/wcook/papers/InheritanceSubtyping90/CookPOPL90.pdf https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/wcook/papers/InheritanceSubt...