For a web application developer, choosing the correct Javascript is crucial. It determines the entire trajectory of the project and can significantly impact its success. Most developers need clarification on Angular and React because choosing one over the other will yield very different results.
Angular offers a comprehensive JavaScript framework that is built using TypeScript. React, on the other hand, is built using JSX. React is a JavaScript library that you can turn into a full-fledged framework by adding more libraries to it.
Then, which is better? In terms of market share, React is more popular than Angular. As per a report from Statista, 42.62% of all websites are created using React.js, while only 20.39% of websites were developed on Angular. This article will provide an in-depth comparison of the two based on different factors to decide which is better for you.
What is Angular?
Angular, formerly called AngularJS, is an open-source development platform created and launched by Google in 2010. It was built to develop single-page web applications. Angular’s Application-Design system is built using TypeScript and comes with the functionality of a component-based architecture that allows you to build scalable applications.
Angular incorporates an archive of libraries and features to facilitate end-to-end communications between the client and server. Adopting Angular best practices accelerates the process of front-end development with its suite of development tools.
These tools are capable of scaling small applications to enterprise-grade. Thanks to the large community of loyal developers, Angular is still being updated.
Distinct Features of Angular
- Dual data binding
- Dependency injection
- Integrated libraries
- Virtual scrolling
- Angular CLI
Advantages Of Angular
- Angular is famous for its dedicated community of developers who provide support services. This fact has generated a renewed interest in Angular and hiked its demand.
- Angular as a framework is supported by all browsers, irrespective of the platform.
- Angular has maintained its reputation as a reliable framework offering off-the-rack tools.
- A comprehensive and robust set of components.
- Angular comes with a two-way data-binding feature which is the major element of difference from React.
Disadvantages of Angular
- Angular does not comprise extensive, comprehensive documentation.
- It has a steep learning curve and may take lot of time before you can efficiently use it to develop apps.
Advanced Features of Angular
Besides the distinct features, Angular also has some advanced features that are worth mentioning.
- DOM or Document Object Model
DOM looks at an HTML or XML web page as a tree structure of objects, where every node signifies a different segment of the dynamic whole. Angular utilizes regular DOM. This means that if an HTML page has undergone revisions a number of times, Angular will upgrade the entire structure of the HTML elements instead of just those that had been revised.
- TypeScript
Developers will be able to write more comprehensible JavaScript codes because of TypeScript. Due to JavaScript compilation, all frameworks are allowed the smooth execution of TypeScript code. Using TypeScript is not crucial for developing Angular applications. However, the syntactic nature of TypeScript allows developers to build apps that are sustainable.
- Data Binding
Through bidirectional data binding, developers can monitor and control many segments of a web page. It incorporates dynamic HTML instead of complicated scripts and elements such as tutorials, calculators, forums, and games. This feature allows Angular to showcase vast amounts of data in smaller segments.
- Architecture
An absolute MVC or model-view-controller framework which includes a bi-directional flow of data. This enables the platform to provide real DOM and particular instructions about the organizational structure of the application.
- Testing
Angular uses a testing framework called Jasmine. This framework comes with multiple features so that developers are able to create numerous test cases.
What is React?
React is an open-source and front-end JavaScript library that can be used to develop UI components. It comprises an architecture that is component-based and allows one-direction binding of data.
React allows developers to create engaging and complicated UIs very easily. Developers can quickly build robust and scalable apps that can be run on all platforms with React. This is possible because of its principle of “learn once, write anywhere.”
React was launched in 2013 by Meta, erstwhile Facebook. It has features that support the use and execution of JavaScript languages. React also renders server-side and client-side data. React utilizes a virtual DOM, which makes it easier to learn and use. Because of its simplicity, React occupies 3.3% out of the 4.1% market share of the JavaScript library.
Distinct Features of React
- Declarative views
- Virtual DOM
- JSX advantage
- Unidirectional data binding
- Structural adaptability
Advantages of React
- React allows the use of HTML codes as it proceeds from JSX. Developers can also add HTML tags for visualizing subcomponents.
- Developers have the ability to combine the different components in one file.
- React helps in the development of programs that are readable by a machine.
- React has an optimal configuration environment which has led to a majority of developers using React Native.
- The platform has a quick rendering feature that helps it stay ahead of the competition, such as Angular. React combines various approaches to reduce the frequency of DOM operations and accelerate the upgradation process.
- Developers can maintain a large database easily because of Virtual DOM usage.
- React is a library product based on JavaScript.
- Developers who are looking for a seamless, reliable, and intensive programming platform choose React. It is a more advanced programming language than Angular.
Disadvantages of React
- React is not suitable for all web application development.
- Integrating React into traditional frameworks will reduce the speed of development and make the process quite complicated.
Advanced Features of React
The popularity of React can be attributed to the following features of the framework. Let’s examine them in more detail.
- Virtual DOM or Document Object Model
Similar to the regular DOM in Angular, the virtual DOM looks at the HTML or XML page as a tree structure, where each node represents a different segment. A specific object is updated in the Virtual DOM when the state of the object undergoes a change.
- JSX
JSX is a JavaScript syntax extension and is used by React to instruct the look of the UI. JSX offers developers the advantage of writing HTML and JavaScript codes in the same file.
- Architecture
React exercise the accurate “View” option in the MVC or Model View Controller architecture. This helps determine the look and function of the app. Developers can employ the UI logic view option to use it for all data-specific reasoning. The controller acts as the seamless interlink between the View and the Model.
- Data Binding
React utilizes a unidirectional data binding that ensures all operations retain their agility and modularity. Moreover, when creating a project using React, it is normal to stack subordinate elements within superior elements in a hierarchical structure to facilitate the one-way data flow.
- Extension
React’s features are not limited to that of a User Interface framework. Instead, it has numerous extensions that have a role to play in every aspect of the architecture of the application. These extensions offer server-side rendering and help to develop mobile applications.
What Are The Differences Between Angular and React?
You must have realized how Angular and React differ from each other. Let us understand the differences between the two in close detail.
- Backward Compatibility
The current version of Angular is Angular 4. It is backward compatible with Angular 2. The versions that came before Angular 2 are not fully compatible. This is a drawback of the AngularJS framework.
React’s current version React 16, on the other hand, is fully backward compatible with all previous versions. It also comprises supporting capabilities for asynchronous rendering. React is completely open-source and comes with a license from MIT.
- Ecosystems
Both Angular and React have strong ecosystems. But React is easier to learn than Angular. React needs multiple integrations to develop potent functionality. React is a library that puts it in a favorable position with respect to diverse projects.
- Community Support
On popular developer sites like GitHub and NPM, React enjoys immense community support. The platform is favored by developers over Angular because it is simple to use. React has over 209k stars currently on GitHub, which proves that the developers’ community approves it. But Angular is not far behind in terms of community support.
However, the repeat user base of React is larger than that of Angular. React uses Virtual DOM, which has resulted in the creation of an oversized community base. Virtual DOMs give developers the capability to swiftly update and render apps. Angular, too has some big clients, like Google AdWords. Thus, on both platforms, you can find similar levels of community support that can address any issue you face while working on a project.
- Market Share
Facebook and Google built React and Angular, respectively, to run their proprietary applications and websites on these systems. These platforms have, in due course, been offered to developers across the globe to support their activity. React helped in the development of such apps as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, while most of the Google subsidiary services use Angular. Beyond these tech giants, there are other clients for both platforms.
In the portfolio for React, you can find companies like Netflix, codeacademy.com, and New York Times. Angular is also used by large corporations like Microsoft, Xbox, Forbes, and Santander Bank.
Things To Consider When Choosing Between React And Angular
React, and Angular offers two very different value propositions for developers. We will try to understand these in regard to their distinguishing features.
- MVC Pattern
Segregating the application into distinct segments reduces the number of codes needed to be written while improving the quality of the resulting product. In contrast to Angular, which was created in accordance with the MVC design, on the other hand React just includes the view element of the MVC, which increases the number of lines of code.
- Templating
There are numerous templates that can be used to create a UI. These templates can be leveraged when developing a JavaScript product. React, and Angular both use these templates, where the former uses it in the JSX file and the latter in the TypeScript file.
- Data Binding
There needs to be a connection between the UI and the client side of the application. Data binding is that feature that helps you to establish this connection. React uses unidirectional data binding, and Angular uses bidirectional data binding.
Angular’s data binding type allows the framework to use the controller to connect the model data with the DOM. This impacts the app’s performance. React, on the other hand, allows a unilateral flow of data that helps in the debugging of errors naturally, especially for large applications.
- Rendering
Rendering can be performed on either the server side or on the client side. If the app is delivered from the client side, it negatively affects the loading time of the pages. Thus, it is suggested that a developer must use a framework that delivers data from the server side. Both Angular and React utilize server-side data delivery.
- Performance
React has unidirectional data binding, which means that it will not affect performance, even if you try to develop complex applications. Developers who use Angular will face the trouble of lower app performance. Moreover, the developer community of React has integrated a virtual DOM that will lessen the loading time even further.
Aspects To Consider When Determining The Performance Between React And Angular
The app performance will be very different depending on the framework used to build it. Let us look at the things to consider when the performance of the app is in question.
- Packaging
Developers look at the capability of the framework when deciding between Angular and React. The flexibility of the framework matters a lot too. The main aim of developers these days is to build an app with the least loading time, which means that they will need to minimize the number of files and optimize the code. Between the two frameworks, React has a lighter package and allows developers to create the fastest-loading web pages.
- Learning Curve
Angular, as we have already mentioned, has a steep learning curve. React, on the other hand, is easier to master. Developers have to contend against and make sense of the unintuitive link on Angular. React can be grasped easily by developers without the need for formal training.
- Model Complexity
Model complexity refers to the way you structure your data model. Angular has a copy and compares feature, which makes it very sensitive when you use it. This means that Angular will not allow you to use large app models.
However, there is a favorable outcome to this as it makes the code simple and easy to test. React gives developers the benefit of options that do not affect performance. Hence, in terms of model complexity, both frameworks are good.
Final Thoughts
We have discussed the features, aspects, and usability of Angular and React in great detail. While both frameworks are equally useful for writing codes, they are very different from each other. The developers’ community is divided between Angular and React, making the choice even more difficult. We recommend that you choose between them after considering the needs of the project at hand.
