Frameworks are like jet packs for development languages: They boost performance, extend capabilities, and offer libraries of coding shortcuts so developers aren’t hand-coding web applications from the ground up.

Frameworks aren’t just bundled snippets of code; they offer features like models, APIs, and other elements to streamline the development of dynamic, rich web applications. While some frameworks offer a more rigid approach to development, others allow for more fluidity in the process—developers can choose based on project needs or their own work styles.

Key takeaway: Frameworks are designed to speed up the coding process. It’s as if you’re making a sandwich: It’s much easier to buy pre-made, sliced bread from the store than to bake it on your own from scratch. Frameworks are your site’s sliced bread.

Below, you’ll find more about what you need to know about frameworks.

• Web application framework core features
• Types of programming frameworks
• Mobile development frameworks
• Frameworks vs. libraries: key differences
• How to use a framework

Web application framework core features

Web application frameworks are software frameworks that streamline web app and website development, web services, and web resources. A popular type of web app framework is the model-view-controller (MVC) architecture, named for how it separates the code for each application component into modules.

Each programming language has at least one universal, reusable framework. But they offer more than just the code—frameworks are fully layered workflow environments. While some developers use “library” and “framework” interchangeably, they are actually different in how they work (see Frameworks vs. libraries: key differences).

Some common framework features include:

• Ajax. Ajax is a cross-browser framework that helps developers create feature-rich internet applications.
• API. API is the programming interface you use to interact with another application or operating system. It pulls from the framework’s code to work with other code applications.
• Caching. Caching enables you to store data in memory for rapid access, cutting back on server workload.
• Compiler. Compiler is a software tool that translates a programming language’s source code into machine code, bytecode, or some other programming language.
• Library. While a framework isn’t technically a library, it often contains a low-level library with shareable, reusable bits of low-level code in each coding language.
• Scaffolding. Scaffolding is a meta-programming technique used by some model-view-controller frameworks to build database-backed software applications. The programmer can write specifications about how a database can be used, creating a template to build more powerful applications.
• Security. Designed to keep a computer or network secure and safe (a more pressing need given the proliferation of cloud drives), security framework features work through authentication and authorization protocols.

Types of programming frameworks

Below are some of the different types of frameworks, broken down by the computer programming languages in which they’re written.

Python

Django. Django is an all-in-one Python framework originally developed for content management systems. It’s now used for many web applications.Flask. The Flask microframework for Python includes a built-in development server and unit-testing support. It’s ideal for stand-alone apps and quick prototyping.Pyramid. Pyramid is a flexible framework designed for large projects. It’s great for the development of APIs, prototyping, and large web apps (such as content management systems).TurboGears. Version 2 is built from the experience of several next-generation web frameworks, such as TurboGears 1, Django, and Rails.Web2py. This is an open-source framework enabling developers to create feature-rich, interactive websites in a speedy fashion.

Ruby

Camping. The Camping Ruby microframework doesn’t consume much space on your machine and sports a nice redesign. It has a large and helpful support community.Ruby on Rails. Developed in 2004, the Ruby on Rails back-end framework is extremely popular and highly rated, with good MVC architecture and simple testing procedures.Sinatra. Do things your way with Sinatra, a free, open-source framework. It’s simple, runs light, and doesn’t use up valuable memory.

PHP

• CakePHP. Tailored to the business, shopping, and entertainment industries, the CakePHP framework is easy to configure and has good security features.
• CodeIgniter. CodeIgniter is a popular MVC-style PHP framework with a small footprint that is “built for developers who need a simple and elegant toolkit to create full-featured web applications.”
• FuelPHP. FuelPHP is a fast, simple, flexible PHP 5.4+ framework that takes some ideas from other frameworks and improves on them.
• Laminas Project. Formerly the Zend Framework, the Laminas Project is designed to be an enterprise-ready PHP framework that continues to be open-source and community supported.
• Laravel. Billed as the “PHP Framework for Web Artisans,” Laravel has a console that speeds up development by enabling developers to automate repetitive tasks and “generate skeleton code fast.”
• Yii. Claiming to have reasonable defaults and to work right out of the box, Yii is a fast, secure, and efficient PHP framework that supports four types of caching.

Perl

• Catalyst. Catalyst is the most popular Perl MVC framework—an open-source solution great for building dynamic and scalable apps.
• Dancer. Dancer is a simple but powerful web application framework for Perl that depends on as few CPAN modules as possible, so it’s easy to install.
• Interchange. Interchange is an open-source e-commerce web application server and platform that creates tailored e-commerce and catalog solutions.
• Mojolicious. Mojolicious is a real-time web application framework designed for both complex and simple applications. Its tagline: “Web development can be fun again.”

JavaScript

Angular. Angular, an open-source framework, is a powerful and efficient way to build web applications. You can also “reuse your code and abilities to build apps for any deployment target.”Aurelia. The Aurelia framework is for developing robust websites using its high-performance, reactive capabilities.Ember.js. The well-tested option, Ember, has everything you need to build rich UIs that can work on any device, supported by two-way data binding.Meteor. Meteor is an open-source framework for seamlessly building and deploying web, mobile, and desktop applications in JavaScript.Node.js. Working in the JavaScript Runtime environment, the Node.js framework is a back-end development platform for building server software and applications.Vue.js. Vue.js advertises itself as a “rich, incrementally adoptable ecosystem that scales between a library and a full-featured framework,” building on top of standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Java

Grails. Grails is a dynamic framework using an object-oriented language (Groovy JVM) for the Java platform designed to improve developer productivity.Hibernate ORM. Hibernate ORM is a stable object/relational mapping framework for Java. It enables developers to write applications “whose data outlives the application process” more easily.Play. Play is a lightweight framework that strives to make it easy to build web applications with Java and Scala.Spring. Promising to make Java simple, the Spring framework is made popular by its speed, simplicity, and productivity.

ColdFusion Markup Language

• ColdBox. ColdBox is a conventions-based modern HMVC (hierarchical model-view-controller) framework for ColdFusion, Adobe’s application server that simplifies complex coding tasks.
• Fusebox. Now found on GitHub, Fusebox is a free, simple-to-use framework for web development that “organizes your code for fewer development bugs and faster maintenance.”
• CFWheels. CFWheels is an open-source CFML (ColdFusion Markup Language) framework inspired by Ruby on Rails that “provides fast application development, a great organization system for your code, and is just plain fun to use.”

CSS

• Bootstrap. Bootstrap, the open-source framework, focuses on responsive design and contains CSS and JavaScript-based templates for interface components.
• Foundation. Foundation claims to be “the most advanced responsive front-end framework in the world.” It’s very flexible and has a massive toolkit to help developers in their work.
• Tailwind CSS. The “utility-first” framework, Tailwind CSS, promises to help you quickly build a website “without ever leaving your HTML.” It automatically removes all unused CSS when building for production, so your final CSS bundle is as small as possible.

C

• Kore. Use this web application to write scalable and concurrent web-based processes in C or Python. Kore’s primary focuses are security and scalability.
• Facil.io. The C web application framework, Facil.io, is designed to be high-performance, be easy to code with, and minimize learning curves.

C++

Kigs. Kigs, the modular multi-purpose cross-platform C++ framework, was designed to develop different types of applications (such as games, simulators, and viewers) quickly and “in a totally independent manner.”Platinum. Platinum, the comprehensive C++ framework, allows developers to write high-performance applications for many platforms using only one codebase. It can be used on embedded devices, desktops, or large servers.

VB.NET and C#

.NET. The .NET framework is designed for VB.NET, the simple, object-oriented, Visual Basics programming language developed by Microsoft in 2002. It can be used for building any app running on Windows. The framework also runs C#, the open-source, general-purpose, object-oriented programming language that Microsoft developed in 2000, sharing information and services across web services.ASP.NET. The Microsoft product, ASP.NET, offers three frameworks for creating web applications: Web Forms, ASP.NET MVC, and ASP.NET Web Page.DNN. DNN is a development framework and extensibility model for .NET developers. Find hundreds of free and commercial third-party extensions in the DNN Store.MonoRail. The MonoRail framework lets you build your .NET projects on a “rock-solid foundation.”

Swift

• Quick. Quick is one of the frameworks created for Swift, the Apple programming language for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, designed to be an improvement on Objective-C.
• SwiftMonkey. The SwiftMonkey framework is designed to generate randomized user input in iOS apps.
• Vapor. Vapor is a simple but highly functional framework, great for projects involving websites, APIs, and cloud computing.

Mobile development frameworks

Open-source mobile user interface toolkits enable developers to create consistent cross-platform applications for Android, iOS, and all web interfaces. They include:

• Apache Cordova. Formerly known as Phone Gap, Apache Cordova is a cross-platform application development framework allowing developers to create mobile apps using CSS3, HTML5, and JavaScript.
• Flutter. Google’s open and free framework, Flutter, uses a simple, single codebase to let you create mobile, web, desktop, and embedded apps.
• jQuery Mobile. jQuery Mobile has a touch-optimized framework with an HTML5-based user interface system. It’s designed to build responsive websites and apps accessible on all smartphones, tablets, and desktop devices.
• React Native. Created by Facebook, React Native is built in JavaScript and designed to develop Android and iOS mobile applications. It’s been used by brands like Tesla, Airbnb, Skype, and Amazon Prime.
• Swiftic. The Swiftic do-it-yourself mobile app platform is designed for small businesses, offering a selection of design themes to facilitate application development.
• Xamarin. The Microsoft framework, Xamarin, provides a platform for building Android and iOS apps with .NET and C#.

Frameworks vs. libraries: key differences

While many developers use “frameworks” and “libraries” interchangeably, the two have different but related functions. Both work with reusable code created by someone else, but they offer different ways to tackle web application development.

With a code library, the developer has full control and responsibility for where the code goes, “calling” it as needed. With a framework, the application dictates where the code is plugged in, offering an inversion of control. Working with frameworks in this way makes the process of writing code easier, reduces bugs, and simplifies testing.

A library is like a car owner who does their own mechanical work so the vehicle runs exactly how they like it. A framework is like a car owner who lets a mechanic do the repair and maintenance work so they can concentrate on what they love doing best: taking the vehicle for a drive.

How to use a framework

While frameworks can simplify and organize coding projects, you must take time to familiarize yourself with how they work and what they can do. Of course, this begins by knowing the coding language used in the framework.

This might go against the grain of fly-by-their-seat programmers, but it’s a good idea to read the official documentation that comes with the framework. Are there online tutorials or hard-copy manuals? Use them, and take notes so you don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel. If there are specific tasks you want to do in the framework, a web search should turn up numerous YouTube videos and blog posts devoted to them.

To learn a framework, you can also:

• Subscribe to the framework mailing lists aimed at developers and users.
• Carefully analyze the sample apps offered by frameworks to demonstrate their capabilities.
• Ask questions in framework communities, usually full of users willing to support others needing help.
• Subscribe to a bug tracker so you can learn about any problems with the framework and what kind of debugging needs to be done.
• Write about your framework experience on a blog, which might prompt other developers to respond to your experience, point out where you might have gone wrong, and suggest fixes.

Work as a software developer or hire one

While learning a new framework may pose challenges, hiring a software developer skilled in its use couldn’t be simpler. You will find some of the most accomplished independent developers in the business on Ndiwano.com, with experience in the most popular frameworks, starred ratings, and hourly fees clearly displayed.

If you are an independent software developer, search a constantly updated list of jobs, with descriptions of the work required, experience needed, project duration, and, in some cases, the money offered.Ndiwano.com is the world’s work marketplace, providing a framework that ensures clients and talent can find the right fit for just about any job.