Introduction - Fullstackadda

What is Angular ?

Angular is a JavaScript-based open-source front-end web application framework first released in 2010. It is developed and maintained by Google and is designed to make it easier to build dynamic, complex web applications by providing a structure for the development process and a set of tools for building reusable components. AngularJS uses two-way data binding, dependency injection, and a modular architecture to make it easier to build and maintain large, complex web applications. It is often used in Single-Page Applications (SPA) and Progressive Web Applications (PWA).

Angular is

A component-based framework for building scalable web applications
A collection of well-integrated libraries that cover a wide variety of features, including routing, forms management, client-server communication, and more
Community of developer tools to help you develop, build, test, and update your code

What is (SPA) Single Page Application ?

A Single-Page Application (SPA) is a web application that loads a single HTML page and dynamically updates the content as the user interacts with the application. Instead of the browser requesting new pages from the server with each user action, the JavaScript on the page dynamically updates the content, often using AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) to request and receive data from the server. This approach allows for a more seamless user experience, as the entire page does not need to be reloaded with each action.

SPAs are often built using JavaScript frameworks such as AngularJS, React, and Vue.js, which provide tools for building reusable components, managing state, and handling routing. They are also well suited for Progressive Web App (PWA) development, as PWAs are web apps that can work offline and provide a native-app-like experience.

Some advantages of SPAs are:

Improved User Experience: as the entire page does not need to be reloaded with each action, SPA’s can provide a more seamless and responsive user experience.
Lower server load: Since most of the rendering and data management is done on the client-side, the server only needs to handle API requests and data transfer, which reduces the server load.
Better SEO: Search engines have a hard time crawling and indexing JavaScript-heavy applications but with SPA, the initial load can be handled on the server side which can make it SEO-friendly.

Some disadvantages of SPAs are:

Complexity: Single Page Applications can be more complex to develop and maintain than traditional multi-page applications, especially when the application gets bigger.
Limited browser history: Since the application is dynamic, there may be limited browser history, so users may not be able to use the browser’s back and forward buttons to navigate through the application.
Limited accessibility: SPAs can be less accessible for users with disabilities or users with slow internet connection.

Note that SPA is not the only way to build web applications, and it’s not always the best solution for every situation. The choice of architecture will depend on the specific requirements of your application and the goals you want to achieve.

Features of Angular

Angular is among the most powerful JavaScript web frameworks out there, all thanks to its wide range of features. The leading JS web framework facilitates the development of modern and high-performance applications and also makes the development process easier. Here are the most notable features of Angular that you should know about:

Cross-Platform: In Angular you can not only create UIs for web applications but also for native mobile applications as well as desktop applications. Also, the framework comes in handy if you want to develop applications for Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems.

TypeScript: Angular makes use of TypeScript, which is better than JavaScript due to the fact that it is a statically-typed language. It means that there will be fewer errors during the compile time as the types of variables are defined beforehand. Also, any piece of JavaScript code is a valid TypeScript code. Moreover, if you know JavaScript, learning TypeScript would be fairly easy.

MVC Architecture: MVC stands for Model-View-Controller. The application data is managed by the Model and View manages the data display. While the controller plays as a connector between the view and model layers. Generally, in MVC architecture, you can split up the app accordingly and write code to connect the same. However, in Angular; developers just need to split up the application into MVC and it does the rest on its own. And it saves a significant amount of coding time.

Angular CLI (Command Line Interface): Angular CLI offers a great way to speed up the development process. From setting up the project to adding components and services, there are several tasks that you can do by simply using Angular’s native CLI.

Data Binding and Dependency Injection: The data binding feature is what allows you to add dynamic behavior to the web pages developed using Angular. In general, two-way data binding occurs between the model and view components. In simple words, whenever you make some changes in the view or UI elements, the changes will be reflected in the model or domain logic in real-time. Also, the vice-versa holds true.

On the other hand, the dependency injection feature makes it possible to create entities that can deal with the dependencies of components. For instance, services in Angular can perform certain tasks like fetching data from the server and applying validation rules to the user input. You can make these tasks available to multiple components, and the process of making a service available to a component is known as dependency injection.

Advanced Futures: Angular comes with extensive support for complex animations. As a developer, you can easily add various animations to your application and that too without the need to write lengthy code. Its dedicated functional API for animations makes it fairly simple to introduce animations to different sections of the UI.

Benefits of using Angular

There are several benefits of using AngularJS, including:

Two-way data binding: AngularJS automatically synchronizes the model and view, which means that any changes made to the model are immediately reflected in the view, and vice versa. This can make it easier to build dynamic, complex web applications.
Directives: AngularJS provides a set of directives that can be used to create custom HTML elements and attributes, which can be used to extend the functionality of HTML. This can make it easier to create reusable components and add additional functionality to the application.
Templates: AngularJS uses templates to define the structure of the view, which are then compiled into a live view. This can make it easier to create and maintain the view of the application.
Dependency injection: AngularJS uses dependency injection to make it easy to manage the dependencies between different components of the application. This can make it easier to build and maintain large, complex web applications.
Modular architecture: AngularJS uses a modular architecture, which makes it easy to organize and maintain the code for large, complex applications. This can make it easier to understand and work with the codebase.
Services: AngularJS provides a set of built-in services, like $http, which can be used to interact with the server and perform common operations like making HTTP requests. This can make it easier to build web applications that interact with a back-end API.
Testing: AngularJS provides a powerful testing framework that makes it easy to write unit tests and end-to-end tests for your application. This can make it easier to ensure that the application is working as expected and catch any bugs early.
Routing: AngularJS provides a powerful routing mechanism that allows you to create single-page applications, with different views and controllers for different parts of the application. This can make it easier to create a responsive and seamless user experience.
Strong Community: AngularJS has a large community of developers who contribute to the framework, so you can find a lot of resources and support online.
Good performance: AngularJS uses a change detection mechanism that optimizes the performance of the application when the data changes.
Mature and Stable: AngularJS is a mature framework that has been around for over a decade, it is stable and has a lot of features that can be leveraged to build complex web applications.

Difference between the AngularJS & Angular: Some key differences between Angular JS & Angular, which can be categorized in the following way:

Section	Angular JS	Angular
Architecture	It supports the MVC design. The view processes the information available in the model to generate the output.	It uses components and directives. Components are the directives with a template.
Language	JavaScript.	TypeScript .
Mobile support	Not support mobile browsers.	Angular is supported all the popular mobile browsers.
Expression Syntax	ng-Bind is used to bind data from view to model and vice versa.	Properties enclosed in “()” and “[]” are used to bind data between view and model.
Dependency Injection	It does not use Dependency Injection.	Angular is supported by all the popular mobile browsers.
Routing	AngularJS uses $routeprovider.when() for routing configuration.	Angular uses @Route Config{(…)} for routing configuration.
Structure	It is less manageable in comparison to Angular.	It has a better structure compared to AngularJS, easier to create and maintain for large applications but behind AngularJS in the case of small applications.
CLI	It does not come with a CLI tool.	It comes with the Angular CLI tool.