Required Framework vs Static Library

Question

Building Modern Frameworks says every app has its own copy of a custom framework. Now that Xcode supports iOS frameworks, is it still true that frameworks are static libraries but just more convenient? If that's true, then why choose the static library template? Otherwise, should I convert all my required custom frameworks to static libraries once Swift supports static libraries?

Answer 1

Frameworks serve the same purpose as static and dynamic shared libraries, that is, they provide a library of routines that can be called by an application to perform a specific task. For example, the Application Kit and Foundation frameworks provide the programmatic interfaces for the Cocoa classes and methods. Frameworks offer the following advantages over static-linked libraries and other types of dynamic shared libraries:

1. Frameworks group related, but separate, resources together. This grouping makes it easier to install, uninstall, and locate those resources.

2. Frameworks can include a wider variety of resource types than libraries. For example, a framework can include any relevant header files and documentation.

3. Multiple versions of a framework can be included in the same bundle. This makes it possible to be backward compatible with older programs.

4. Only one copy of a framework’s read-only resources reside physically in-memory at any given time, regardless of how many processes are using those resources. This sharing of resources reduces the memory footprint of the system and helps improve performance.

This excerpt taken from here.