totally different! in terms of lace,
pillow or bobbin lace (lace hand woven on a pillow with each thread on its own bobbin) is the most traditional lace.
(its the lace sumptuary laws regulated!)

tatting, crochet, and knit lace were ways to get 'arround the law". (and are lacelike in that order (tatting is more like pillow lace than crocheted lace, which is more like pillow lace than knitted lace.. not that knitted lace isn't lacy.. its all a matter of degrees!

I know how to tat, but i am not very good at it--i can crochet too, but i tend to stick to my knitting!

tatting, like knitting is experiencing a revival, (search google blogs, and you'll find lots of young (20something) women tatting, and doing fun and new things (tatted lobsters!)

the recent exhibit at the Mus of Art and Design (Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting) had knitted, crocheted, and tatted lace elements. but no pillow/bobbin lace.

on average,1 square inch of pillow lace take about 1 hour to weave. France and Belgium were renouned for their laces, and sumpuary laws were to protect against trade imballances as much as anything else!--English king and queens didn't want resources going to these countries.

(i have never learned to do pillow lace (i know how to do it in theory--but...))

my other obsession