Angular Development and How It Can Help Your Business

What is Angular

Angular is a framework from Google for building client applications. First, it aims to develop SPA-solutions (Single Page Application). In this regard, Angular is the successor of another framework, AngularJS. At the same time, Angular is not a new version of AngularJS but a fundamentally new framework.

Angular provides functionality such as two-way binding that allows you to dynamically change data in one interface place when model data changes in another, templates, routing, and so on.

One of the main features of Angular is that it uses TypeScript as its programming language.

But we are not limited to the TypeScript language. If desired, we can write applications in Angular using languages like Dart or JavaScript. However, TypeScript is still the primary language for Angular.

Some history

The Angular project was first introduced in 2009. Several versions have been released during this time, and a large community has gathered around the framework. The success of the framework was primarily determined by its creator, Google.

At that time, a Google employee named Miško Hevery was developing a side project. This side project was supposed to help make it easier to build web applications for a couple of internal projects he was working on. This side project later was known as AngularJS (Angular, because of the angular brackets ‹› in HTML).

Miško and a few others started building some more internal applications with AngularJS, eventually releasing it as an open source project in 2010.

A few years after its initial release, the web development landscape began to change, and AngularJS fell.

New developments and standards in JavaScript emerged, and Angular began to fall behind the cutting edge. More importantly, the core team had reached the limit of what they could do to improve the structure to meet the growing demands.

The Google team and community have taken what was once a small internal project and pushed it to new frontiers such as mobile and large enterprise applications. It was never intended or designed for these situations when Miško first created it.

When the core Google team was looking to release 2.0, they didn’t want to be tied to their previous AngularJS construct. They wanted to create a structure from the ground up to solve complex problems while building large and cross-platform applications. This meant a complete overwrite.

The teams hurried on and started building new Angular2.0 applications while it was still in beta. This version was subject to breaking changes.

In 2018 the Angular framework reached several significant releases to stabilize it. Each release provides improved build sizes, stable APIs, and better performance.

Finally, the team ended up redesigning Angular from the ground up to give us more than 1.x ever had. Angular provides solutions for every step of building an extensive application.

Up to now, there are 14 versions of Angular. Angular 14 was released on June 02, 2022. Each version is expected to be backward-compatible with the prior release. The Angular development team has promised to do twice-a-year upgrades.

At the same time, AngularJS is still maintained. The core team recently announced that they would release the latest version, 1.7, and move into long-term support.

How Angular differs from AngularJS

Angular is the successor to AngularJS, written in JavaScript. Despite the similar names, these are different frameworks. AngularJS is also called version 1.x. The framework has existed since 2009. It is currently in long-time support mode. This means that it continues to be supported, but new features are no longer added to the framework. A lot of legacy code is written in AngularJS.

The new version is Angular, aka Angular 2.x onwards. The framework is written in TypeScript and is not compatible with AngularJS. It was released in 2016 and has been developed ever since. Angular has a different architecture; you can write on it with TypeScript and JavaScript.

The structure of the Angular framework

Components

Components are large building blocks of an application that do not depend on each other. For example, one component is the news feed, and the other is the site header. The application is built from them, as from blocks. Usually, each component is stored in a separate file. You can create your HTML template and CSS styles for it. They can be in the same file as the component, or they can be connected separately. A ready-made interface block is created with a structure, styles, and specific behavior logic.

Modules

These are also components of the application but are different. They manage the elements. If the part is an application area, then the module is responsible for managing it. All modules are the entry point to the application and the code for animation or navigation.

There is a central module in every project. Additional ones are added as needed and perform specific tasks. They are required in order not to overload the main module with unnecessary functionality and not make it too cumbersome.

Forms

Most Angular applications are form-based, that is, based on forms. A form is a structure in which the user enters some data and then sends it to the server. The block for writing a comment or for feedback is a form.

Angular makes working with forms easier: you don’t have to write them from scratch. Templates have already been created for them, which need to be adapted to a new task.

Services

They are similar to components but more highly specialized. They can be defined at the module, element, or application levels. Services implement particular logic. They are connected to the application as a regular class and are used to store the application’s global state and as a data provider.

Directives

These are the parts of the application that change the structure or behavior of the page. Components are also directives. But besides them, there are two more types: structural orders and directions that change the appearance or behavior of elements. They must apply one action to all instances of one component – for example, changing the currency in all product cards.

Advantages of Angular

An abundance of opportunities

Angular helps to bind application components to each other, transfer data, animate interfaces, etc. Its functionality may be redundant for simple projects, but for complex SPA applications, it is indispensable.

Universal application

The framework allows you to create not only web applications. With it, you can write code that can be adapted to another environment. For example, the application can run on a mobile or desktop operating system. With the help of Angular, you can even create an application for augmented reality.

Detailed style guide

A feature of Angular is detailed documentation. It contains recommendations for building and developing applications style guide – a guide to the programming style in Angular. This is convenient for developers who are new to the framework. The unity of class helps programmers better understand each other’s code.

Support from Google

The developers of Angular are Google employees, and the support of a large corporation helps the framework grow. At the same time, third-party developers can develop it thanks to a free license and open source code.

Disadvantages of Angular

Difficulty in learning

Angular is considered one of the most complex front-end frameworks. It may not be easy to learn from scratch on your own. In addition, to get started, you will need to know not only “pure” JavaScript but also TypeScript, which is based on it.

Lack of compatibility between old and new versions

Despite similar names, AngularJS and Angular are incompatible and fundamentally different. Therefore, developers facing legacy AngularJS code need to learn the basics of working with the legacy framework. The concepts and rules of the new Angular won’t work.

Why use Angular in web apps for your business

Today’s businesses have become more digital to accelerate growth. Every passing day creates different websites online, which increases the number of websites already operating on the web. With such extreme competition, the requirement of interactive and user-friendly web applications becomes very important to promote business success. Angular is the ideal industry-leading framework for producing scalable solutions that meet user requirements.

Code consistency and reusability

Code consistency is the foundation for a thriving, powerful development environment, as inconsistent coding increases the chances of delayed launches or high costs. Sequential coding has various advantages such as templates or predefined snippets, ease of use on sites, etc. With more reliable implementations, separate elements are replaceable, allowing for efficient code maintenance and updates. Angular has a component-based structure that makes components reusable and simplifies the development process.

Support from Google

Angular is a framework developed and maintained by Google. It is recognized as one of the most reliable frameworks by the application development team members. Google’s web toolkits allow developers to make a unique and user-friendly applications. Developers get a chance to join the large open source community and connect with experienced engineers to clarify their issues.

SPA-oriented features

Angular supports the development of single-page applications. The main goal of single page app development is a faster transition to the website. The website will interact with the web browser by dynamically replacing the current web page with new data from the web server instead of the browser’s default system of loading completely new pages.

Difference between frameworks AngularJs and ReactJS

One of the most popular web application development frameworks is JavaScript. It offers many options to help developers build some of the best apps based on their business requirements. Some of the most frequently used JavaScript frameworks are Angular JS, React JS, Vue JS, and so on. All frameworks are excellent and offer a wide range of features, making it difficult for developers to choose one. We will discuss Angular JS vs. React JS with their pros and cons.

Angular JS is a JavaScript application architecture design pattern (MVVM) launched in 2009. The main goal was to create web applications with a super level of interactivity.

Advantages or Pros of Angular JS

1. It has several new features, including enhanced RXJS, the latest HTTP client, and improved compilation (which happens in less than three seconds).
2. Risk minimization – yes, you read that right! The two-way data binding feature provides exceptional application behavior, minimizing risk and fewer errors. This way, whenever there is a slight data change, the action is propagated, which means new updates are automatically synchronized across the data model and the model view.
3. It is possible to introduce the dependency of functions related to components with modules and modularity in general terms. This is a built-in system dependency feature that is the best of the benefits that come with Angular JS.
4. The MVVM model allows developers to work separately in the same sections of an application while implementing the same set of data functions. 
5. Anyone can join the application development process at any time, as new members are given enough time to learn and understand everything, thanks to detailed documentation offering vital information for individual developers – whether a developer leaves the team or a new person joins.
6. The framework can run on any browser or platform, which supports cross-compatibility, regardless of device, OS, browser, or platform. Since it comes with built-in tools and functionality, there is consistency, and the components are flexible, solid, and reliable compared to other platforms.
7. It is built on top of a component architecture that embeds deep binding into components. Each of these components contains elements with corresponding functionality. Also, you will find that the ingredients in these components are well encapsulated and loosely coupled. This characteristic helps make components reusable and also helps to improve their testability and support maintenance.
8. The global community support available for Angular JS is one factor that makes it the ideal JavaScript platform. You will see that developers and designers are constantly collaborating and contributing to the community, increasing the reliability and credibility of this framework.
9. With TypeScript, you can enjoy features like static font checking, high-performance typing, and object-oriented templating, making it one of the best JavaScript frameworks.
10. One of the best parts about using Angular JS is how easy it is to develop and customize the Document Object Model (DOM).
11. You can easily create powerful boilerplate solutions using the Angular libraries designed for this specific function.
12. When you try to unit test in Angular JS, you need to inject dummy data into the controller, and that result can be accessed with its behavior in the view. Develop these pages separately, which can later be combined with components to see the result.
13. Attractive data-binding UI combined with single routing is another significant benefit.
14. It is required that developers make sure to synchronize data between the model, view, and component.
15. The framework provides the ability to create reusable components using directives, as it has an extension for HTML syntax.

Disadvantages or Cons of Angular JS

1. The first version of Angular has a complex syntax that makes it awkward to work with. 
2. There are migration issues that people claim to have encountered when migrating from one of the older versions to the latest.
3. As we said, developers can quickly develop a custom DOM, but there is no guarantee of how well those DOM elements will work.
4. Third-party integration is not an easy task for developers when working with Angular JS.
5. The routing options can be smaller, and even the available resources are not suitable for routing.
6. It cannot be easy to debug a framework at any time.
7. Because it contains interactive embedded page elements, pages can be slow, again a disadvantage.
8. It can take quite a long time to learn and understand Angular JS, especially for beginners.

Advantages or Pros of React JS

1. One of the best parts about using React JS is that the framework is easy to learn and understand. React JS syntax is easier to understand compared to other JavaScript frameworks. If you have a clear idea and understanding of HTML writing skills, then you don’t need to worry – make a decision. You don’t have to worry about significant complexities like TypeScript JS in Angular.
2. You can use the virtual DOM, which is known to be able to organize XML, HTML, or XHTML documents as needed into a tree. This is the most preferred format by web browsers when parsing various web application components.
3. There is no violation of parent data caused by child data due to downward data binding, which tends to affect frameworks.
4. It uses a 100% open source JavaScript library that is updated daily.
5. High level of flexibility.
6. You can enjoy maximum responsiveness.
7. Combined with ES6/7, it can take any amount of load.
8. You can easily switch from one version to another without any complications.
9. Because its architecture is entirely component-based, each of these components can be easily imported.
10. You can reuse codes that were once written in React JS.
11. The debugging process is much simpler and easier compared to other platforms.
12. The user interface is quite simple.
13. Updates don’t take too long and are made easier by frontend and server side support.
14. With React JS, you can develop isomorphic or universal web applications that provide server-side rendering.
15. The framework is compatible with iOS and Android platforms.
16. Another fantastic fact about React JS is that it is view-centric.

Disadvantages or Cons of React JS

1. JSX, or what we call JavaScript extension syntax, doesn’t seem to be an excellent idea for web application development because it involves a lot of complexity. In addition, the learning curve is not easy either.
2. It’s hard to think of React JS in terms of a framework because it’s more of a library than a framework.
3. Each time, many updates are made to its docs, and new tools keep being released, making it more difficult for developers to work with codes.
4. There is always a difference in architecture with new updates, which makes it challenging to manage.
5. You can’t easily include React JS in MVC as you will always need to configure it.

You can compare all the features and disadvantages we have listed in this article to make it easier for you to understand which of the two frameworks, Angular JS vs. React JS, is better for your business or project needs. Think about what your project needs. What functions suit him. And then, based on your requirements, make the right choice, watching the result as the magic unfolds and how it helps you win customers.