Explanation: Early Buddhist literature is generally divided into canonical and non-canonical texts.

• Canonical texts are those texts that are directly linked to Gautama Buddha in one way or another.
• They can simply be understood as books which lay down the basic tenets and principles of Buddhism, such as, the Tipitakas (Three Pitakas, also known as the Pali canon).
• Non-canonical texts or semi canonical texts are texts that are not the sayings of the Buddha, but commentaries and observations on canonical texts, treatise on the Dharma/Dhammapada, historical information, quotes, definitions, grammars, and other writings in Pali, Tibetan, Chinese, and other East Asian languages.

Source: Tamil Nadu NCERT