Final answer:
BeanFactory is the root interface in the Spring framework for accessing any type of bean, while ApplicationContext is a sub-interface of BeanFactory and provides all the functionality of BeanFactory along with additional features.
Step-by-step explanation:
BeanFactory is the root interface in the Spring framework for accessing any type of bean. It provides a basic and low-level mechanism for managing beans by providing methods for creating, retrieving, and destroying beans. On the other hand, ApplicationContext is a sub-interface of BeanFactory and provides all the functionality of BeanFactory along with additional features such as internationalization support, event handling, aspect-oriented programming, and more. It is recommended to use ApplicationContext over BeanFactory in most Spring applications.