Framework vs Library – What Is the Difference?
A framework and a library are reusable code written to shorten an app’s development time. They are code pre-written by someone else, which you can use alongside your own code. However, they both have subtle differences.
What Is a Framework?
A framework is a ready-made skeletal structure used as an app’s primary support system. It is like your skeleton, which is the primary support system of your body.
Your skeleton is your body’s framework, while your cloth is your body’s library. Image by Lothar Dieterich
What Is a Library?
A library is a modular tool used as an app’s add-on feature. It is like your cloth, which you use as an add-on feature on your body.
Advantages of Frameworks and Libraries
Frameworks and libraries help quicken an app’s development process by providing pre-written functionalities you would have implemented from scratch.
Using a framework or library for your app’s development is not compulsory. However, some back-end codes—for instance, HTTP server, URL routing, and Web security—are challenging to implement without frameworks. Therefore, while you may develop front-end interfaces without using frameworks, back-end coding is faster, easier, and much more efficient with back-end frameworks.
Examples of Frameworks and Libraries
There are numerous types of frameworks and libraries. Below are a few good ones.
- Front-end frameworks: Bootstrap, Semantic UI, Vue, and Angular
- Back-end frameworks: Express (NodeJS/JavaScript), Spring (Java), Django (Python), Laravel (PHP), and Ruby on Rails (Ruby). Note: In parentheses are the scripting languages of the frameworks.
- Libraries: React, Lodash, ChartJS, and jQuery