I think you are referring to the Sparkle software update framework. It is not an Apple framework, but it is so ubiquitous and frictionless that it may well be the de facto macOS software update mechanism for 3rd party apps.
Personally I prefer it over even the Mac App Store’s software update mechanisms. Sparkle can check for an update on every launch, plus periodically. MAS can leave me running an old version for up to a week.
Implementing the Sparkle framework would be terrific.