Library is a set of methods/tools you use and you call. A framework is a more complete package, a "frame" around your code, where you write a piece of code that hooks into the framework and the framework itself handles/calls it. The difference is who calls who: with React you call the render method and you setup a lot of things by hand for React to work. Angular is a framework, it comes with a complete package, it tells you what files you should create, it sets up a lot of stuff before it executes your code. And then there are engines which are a complete, self-contained set of code and tools but it gives you the ability to control it with your scripts/code.
Arguably and perhaps subtly I've been saying that when you and your team get hold of a library and make one single integration into your own codebase, one single none conformist non idiomatic usage, react becomes a framework.
Your own code base becomes the framework that uses React as part of its frame. React is still a library. Redux is still a library. Your code base + React + Redux + Other Libraries = Framework.
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u/PlasmaFarmer 2d ago
React is not a framework, it's a library. And yeah React is that much kB but how about the gazillion libraries you add to get a functional app?