For someone who wrote about time management recent I sure have a lot to learn 😪, I made new time management plans that ensure that yesterday doesn't repeat itself again. Yesterday was quite unusual for me and I couldn't write about Libraries like I promised I would, I'll address it today. Frameworks and Libraries are similar in the same way a contractor and a full-time employee are similar, one of the acknowledged differences between a contractor and a full-time employee is that a contractor typically accomplishes his/her targets (for an organization) using whatever tools, resources or process that the contractor prefers to use.
A RELATABLE EXPLANATION
When was the last time you needed a handyman or a plumber? did you tell them what materials and tools to use for your job? that's the same way contractors are generally. Employees on the other hand have a more defined structure, tools, processes and resources they're to leverage in engaging a challenge and providing solutions for the organization they work for. A framework is like that strict boss that micromanages, it has a very defined way you're to leverage its power while getting things done. A library is more liberal in the way it's used. A library is compartmentalized to the point where you can leverage bits and pieces of the library to solve specific challenges.
LIBRARIES INTEGRATE WELL WITH ONE ONE ANOTHER
A library is so liberal in its usage that you can combine another library with it and all will work well. Think of it like bread and butter, attempting that with a framework is like attempting to mix apple juice and orange juice. A library is more of a "the more the merrier" while a framework is an "all or nothing" kind of development tool. Examples of libraries are React, Jquery, etc (the examples I mentioned are popularly referred to as Javascript libraries). Popular examples of platforms built using the React library (one of the most popular libraries out there) are Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Netflix (I bet these ring a bell 😉). If you ever accessed these platforms on the web, you've enjoyed the power of a library.
FINALLY...
It's not all rainbows and sunshine for libraries. Because libraries are so liberal, it takes skilled management to ensure that developers don't plug in too many different libraries together thus making the project unmanageable and unscalable. You find that organizations tend to work more with frameworks because they're end-to-end solutions that the tech team can work with and can be used to ensure best practices. This is not to say that libraries are bad, some top organizations like Facebook use React. Ok, full disclosure, Facebook built and owns React, so they're obviously going to use it 😂. Asides from Facebook, organizations like Netflix use it, libraries perform well and are a really great way to develop products, the only caveat is not to mix too many and to ensure some set of guidelines that creates boundaries.
Do let me know what you think in the comment section 😉.