Working Definition of "Framework"

[Jeremy S.]

What might be a relatively useful or effective way to explain what a
"Framework" is to non technical business managers. My situation is that I've
been presenting the .NET Framework to these sorts of people in terms of the
things it includes (a runtime environment, application development
environment complete with multiple languages, an IDE - yes I know some
people say it's not really part of the .NET Framework, per se). While it's
how I've been explaining it, I think there has to be a better way - perhaps
some analogy that I can use that will be something that these non technical
managers can understand, while also communicating effectively what it
actually is (without requiring the use of technical jargon which is totally
lost on them).

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[Cor Ligthert [MVP]]

Jeremy,

I would describe the Net framework as the extention to the basic classic
operating system, to make conectivity eassier possible with any device on
any place in the world. Using Internet or any other way, however with
methods learned from Internet Net (by instance disconnected use of data). It
includes as well improvements learned from that approach to speed up
development.

An analogy. Just an frontdesk as a "helpdesk" or "service desk" in an
organisation.

Just an idea after short thinking about your question.

Cor

 

[Kevin Spencer]

The Dictionary defines the word "framework" as:

A structure for supporting or enclosing something else, especially a
skeletal support used as the basis for something being constructed.

This is exactly what a programming "framework" is. It is an existing
structure which supports development of applications. This term is similar
to the term "platform" (and in fact, is often used interchangeably with the
term), to describe any set of supporting tools which facilitates the
creation of software.

In a sense, the Operating System itself is a platform or framework. It
provides a structure and a programming API that makes interaction with the
underlying BIOS and hardware less troublesome. The BIOS itself could also be
called a "platform" or "framework" that provides a simplified interface for
programming against the Motherboard components on a computer.

The .Net Framework is a high-level framework that consists of a very large
set of pre-built and commonly-useful software components for the development
of .Net applications.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
Professional Numbskull

Hard work is a medication for which
there is no placebo.