What is a framework in programming?

A framework in programming serves as a foundational structure that provides developers with pre-written code, libraries, and tools to streamline the application development process. By offering a set of established conventions and components, a framework allows programmers to focus on writing the unique aspects of their applications rather than having to build everything from scratch. This can include features for routing, database interaction, user authentication, and more, all integrated into one cohesive toolset that simplifies the development workflow.

This foundational structure typically supports best practices and design patterns, which can enhance maintainability, scalability, and efficiency. By leveraging a framework, developers can also benefit from community support, as frameworks often have rich ecosystems with additional plugins, packages, and documentation that facilitate further development and customization.

The other choices describe concepts that, while related to programming, do not accurately capture the essence of a framework: a design document refers to planning resources, a single function represents a minimal portion of code, and a programming language defines the syntax and semantics for writing code but is not a structured tool for application development like a framework.