Library
A collection of non-volatile resources used by computer programs, often for software development.
- Snippet from Wikipedia: Library (computing)
In computing, a library is a collection of resources that is leveraged during software development to implement a computer program. Commonly, a library consists of executable code such as compiled functions and classes, or a library can be a collection of source code. A resource library may contain data such as images and text.
A library can be used by multiple, independent consumers (programs and other libraries). This differs from resources defined in a program which can usually only be used by that program. When a consumer uses a library resource, it gains the value of the library without having to implement it itself. Libraries encourage software reuse in a modular fashion. Libraries can use other libraries resulting in a hierarchy of libraries in a program.
When writing code that uses a library, a programmer only needs to know how to use it – not its the internal details. For example, a program could use a library that abstracts a complicated system call so that the programmer can use the system feature without spending time to learn the intricacies of the system function.