Software library
A software library provides reusable functions or components. An application uses it to solve a particular subtask.
Use existing functions for a specific purpose
A software library is a collection of reusable functions or code components. An application can use it for a subtask such as processing data or creating a file. The library does not automatically cover the whole workflow.
In a fictional portal, a utility sorts delivery-note codes as text. This places G-10 before G-2. If the business requires numerical sequence, the application must prepare the values appropriately or use a different comparison rule. A technically completed sort is not necessarily the required business order.
A framework more strongly determines application structure; the boundary with a library is fluid. Integration creates a software dependency. Its version and behaviour after changes therefore belong to maintaining the application itself.
Sources
Related terms
- FrameworkA framework gives an application a technical structure and shared rules. The tasks it handles depend on the chosen framework.
- Software dependencyA software dependency is another software component a program needs. Indirectly introduced packages can also affect operation.
- Legacy systemAn existing system still in use, with technical and business dependencies accumulated over time.
- Multi-tenancyMulti-tenancy supports separate customer or group scopes in one solution. A tenant is not automatically one person or one database.
- Browser cacheThe browser cache stores suitable HTTP responses for later use. Reuse and revalidation follow the applicable rules.
- Cache invalidationCache invalidation ends reuse of a stored copy under defined rules. The source record remains a separate concern.
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