What is the difference between a framework and a library?

frameworks language-agnostic libraries terminology
anbanm picture anbanm · Sep 29, 2008 · Viewed 315.2k times · Source

What is the difference between a framework and a library?

I always thought of a library as a set of objects and functions that focuses on solving a particular problem or a specific area of application development (i.e. database access); and a framework on the other hand as a collection of libraries centered on a particular methodology (i.e. MVC) and which covers all areas of application development.

Answer

Jason Cohen picture Jason Cohen · Sep 29, 2008

A library performs specific, well-defined operations.

A framework is a skeleton where the application defines the "meat" of the operation by filling out the skeleton. The skeleton still has code to link up the parts but the most important work is done by the application.

Examples of libraries: Network protocols, compression, image manipulation, string utilities, regular expression evaluation, math. Operations are self-contained.

Examples of frameworks: Web application system, Plug-in manager, GUI system. The framework defines the concept but the application defines the fundamental functionality that end-users care about.

Related questions

Finding the max/min value in an array of primitives using Java

It's trivial to write a function to determine the min/max value in an array, such as: /** * * @param chars * @return the max value in the array of chars */ private static int maxValue(char[] chars) { int max = chars[0]; for (int ktr = 0; …

Read More
How to "add existing frameworks" in Xcode 4?

I can't find the good old "Add existing frameworks" option. How do I do this? We're talking about Xcode 4 DP2 (in the context of iPhone development, as far as it matters...).

Read More
What is a software framework?

Can someone please explain me what a software framework is? Why do we need a framework? What does a framework do to make programming easier?

Read More