Many people see the words framework, library, and toolkit as synonymous. This is true in the sense that they are all descendants of the same parent. Understanding the difference allows you to go beyond that widely scoped overview.

Three words are used to describe a stereotypical developer: geek, nerd, and dork. Many people assume that these words all mean the same thing when, in fact, they each have very specific meanings. Once you learn the meanings of each of these words, you'll quickly be able to run down the list of all of your friends listening to techno in dimly lit rooms and sort them into each category. Even better, you now have the power of more accurately describing a person.

Framework

In software development, a framework is a defined support structure in which other project can be organized and developed. A framework typically consists of several smaller components; support programs, libraries, and a scripting language. There may also be other software involved to aid in development and meshing of the different components of a project. As you can see, dojo could be part of a framework, but it isn't a framework in itself.

Library

A library is defined as a collection of related functions and subroutines used to develop software. They are distinguished from executables in that they are not independant programs; rather, they are "helper" code that provide access to common functions in one easy to manage location. After reading this you are probably saying, "Hey! dojo is a collection of libraries!", and you would be correct; however, dojo is much more than just a collection of libraries.

Toolkit

Now on to toolkits. A toolkit is generally used in reference to graphical user interface (GUI) toolkits. Basically, a library that is mainly focused on creating a GUI. Yes, dojo could also fall under this category, in fact our name implies it. Why do we call dojo a toolkit? Certainly not because it focuses mainly on GUI development, right? Well quite simply, because dojo is so much more than just a collection of libraries.

None of the Above?

The previous paragraphs have probably left you still wondering what exactly we consider dojo. Obviously it is not a framework, but is it a toolkit or a library? Let's solve this once and for all. Typically, a library is a predetermined file that you include into your application, and that is how you gain access to those functions. However, with dojo, we have wrapped a package system around our libraries. This brings a slight twist to the idea of a library.

With this system we have broken each library up into several pieces. You have the core functions, and then several sub libraries where related, but less often used, functions are stored. This helps keep dojo's footprint based entirely on your needs as a developer. More about that will be covered later in the book but, for now, know that because of this flexibility, dojo is more than just a library, which falls into the realm of a toolkit with a few added functionalities. So as the name implies, dojo is a toolkit... and yet is more.