Abstract systems

I read the thread at this link, particularly the first post, and I started thinking about what I really enjoy about programming: that every system we build, every abstract vision is a MACHINE. The machine IS the business. I can take any system, any business model, and build a reasonable facsimile in code.

I love that.

After doing this for so long, that is the way I think of the world around me; little systems that tie together to make up bigger systems. In and of themselves, the abstraction means little. But if you build it right, they can accomplish things and impact "the big picture."

The big picture is usually something like "I don't have to do that manually anymore" or "now I can understand the outcomes of my actions and make predictions based on a model", or somesuch.