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Based on what information, can we identify something as a software development framework? For example the Wikipedia article of 'software framework' claims it should include support programs, compilers, code libraries, etc. But there are some companies I know of which call a code library 'framework'!

What should a certain development environment contain to be considered as a 'framework'?

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The question is too vague. The wikipedia article precisely describes what a framework is, and how it differs from libraries. – arnaud Dec 12 '12 at 9:25
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@arnaud: well, the Wikipedia article is not clear enough and lacks examples. The answer by Jörg W Mittag is much more illustrative. – MainMa Dec 12 '12 at 12:37

closed as not constructive by gnat, Blrfl, Oded♦, Walter, ElYusubov Dec 12 '12 at 13:21

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The thing that distinguishes a framework from a library is inversion of control: you call a library, but you don't call a framework – a framework calls you.

Or to put it another way: when you write an application using a library, you write the application and leave "holes" in it for the boring details which you then "fill" using a library. (Such a boring detail might be "how to sort a list"; you won't write code for that, you'll just call the library's sort routine.)

When you write an application using a framework, the framework already provides the application for you and just leaves holes in it for the interesting details which you then have to fill out.

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+1. But what about the following case: you call a method which does some complicated computing over some data, and sends the results to you in a bunch of events; once received, you post-process and display this data in a specific way. Is this a library or a framework, given that both computing and post-processing are interesting? – MainMa Dec 12 '12 at 12:31

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