Angular vs React: The Ultimate Comparison

Both Angular and React are powerful Javascript resources that can streamline the code for your web application. Whatever frontend development needs you have, one of these is very likely to be a good fit. Each platform is capable of creating intuitive user interfaces, managing state and API calls, and optimizing performance. The real question is: which one should you choose for your next web development project?

To help you answer that question, we've put together this comprehensive guide to Angular vs. React. We'll explore the key differences between the two frameworks so that you can make an informed decision about which one is right for your project.

What is Angular?

Angular is a frontend framework created by Google. It's written in Typescript, a superset of Javascript that allows for static type checking and HTML. The great thing about using Angular is that it's a complete solution. This means that you don't have to use a separate library for routing, state management, etc. Everything you need is included in the Angular framework.

Angular applications are typically built using the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. This means that there are three different layers to an Angular application:

• The model layer is responsible for managing the data of the application.
• The view layer is responsible for displaying the data to the user.
• The controller layer is responsible for handling user input and updating the model layer accordingly.

One of the benefits of using the MVC architecture is that it makes your code more modular and easier to maintain.

Angular offers two-way data binding, which means that the data in your model layer is automatically updated in the view layer when it changes. This can be a great time saver because you don't have to write code to update the view layer manually.

Angular vs AngularJS

You may think that Angular and AngularJS are the same, but they're quite different. AngularJS is the original version of Angular, and Google created it in 2010.

AngularJS is a Javascript framework that allows you to create dynamic web applications. It uses HTML templates to define your application's user interface, and it uses Javascript to control the application logic.

AngularJS is a great choice if you're looking for a lightweight framework that can be used to create simple applications.

However, AngularJS is no longer supported by Google, and it's not as popular as it once was. In fact, most agree that AngularJS is dead.

If you're starting a new project, you should use Angular instead of AngularJS.

Why use Angular?

With Angular, everything is just so…easy. The Angular CLI makes it easy to create new projects and generate the boilerplate code for you.

Angular also has many features that can make your life as a developer easier. For example, Angular CLI comes with a built-in development server so that you can test your application locally without having to set up a separate server.

Angular also comes with the RxJS library, making it easy to work with asynchronous data. This is perfect for working with APIs because you can easily set up observables that automatically update your UI when the data changes.

Another great feature of Angular is its Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compiler. This compiler can compile your Angular application at build time to run faster when the user loads it.

Other fantastic benefits include:

Google support

Since Google is the creator of Angular, you can rest assured knowing that they will continue to support it and provide updates.

Furthermore, all Google apps are built with Angular, so it's a framework that they clearly don't see going away anytime soon.

Minimal coding

As we mentioned before, Angular is written in TypeScript. This can be a great benefit because it allows for static type checking, which can help you catch errors early on.

With Angular, you can do more with less code. This is because Angular has so many built-in features that would normally require a separate library. However, you don't need to worry about the code type (service, component, etc.) because it automatically organizes them into their respective boxes.

Angular is also great for creating reusable components. This means that you can write your code once and then use it in multiple places throughout your application.

Improved UX

Since Angular applications are typically single-page applications, the user experience is generally better because there is no need to reload the page every time the user wants to view new content.

This results in a faster and smoother application that feels more like a native app than a traditional web application.

What companies use Angular?

Globally, some of the most popular companies that use Angular are:

• Google
• Microsoft
• HBO
• Forbes
• Upwork
• Accenture
• Wix.com
• IBM
• PayPal

What is React?

React is an open-source Javascript library for building user interfaces. It was created by Jordan Walke, a software engineer at Facebook, in 2013. It's currently the most popular frontend library according to npm.

React uses a declarative programming style, making it easy to create interactive UIs. With React, you simply describe what your UI should look like, and React will take care of the rest.

It's commonly used to create single-page web applications, and it can also be used to create complex mobile applications using React Native.

Unlike Angular, React uses one-way data binding. This means that data can only flow from the parent component to the child component. But, this can be a good thing because it makes your code more predictable and easier to debug.

One of the great things about React is that it's very fast because it uses a virtual DOM. The virtual DOM is a JavaScript representation of the actual DOM, and it's used to calculate the differences between the two versions.

React is also written in JavaScript, but it uses a different syntax called JSX. JSX allows you to embed HTML within your JavaScript code.

Why use React?

There are many reasons why you would want to use React over other frameworks:

Lightweight and flexible framework

React is very lightweight because it doesn't have all the built-in features other frameworks have. If you need those features, you can simply add them in as needed. This makes React very fast because it doesn't need to spend time loading all the extra code that you may not even use.

React is also flexible because it can be used with different libraries and frameworks. This means that you're not locked into using React if you decide that you want to use something else down the road.

Both of these qualities make React simple to use and easy to learn.

Great developer tools

React comes with great developer tools that make debugging React applications a breeze.

The React Developer Tools is a browser extension that allows you to inspect the React component hierarchy, including props and state.

There's also the create-react-app tool, which is a command-line interface for creating React applications.

Both of these tools are very helpful when you're trying to debug your React code.

Virtual DOM

As we mentioned before, React uses a virtual DOM, making it very fast. The virtual DOM is a JavaScript representation of the actual DOM, and it's used to calculate the differences between the two versions.

This means that your application will only re-render the parts of the DOM that have changed, which is much faster than re-rendering the entire DOM.

Best of all, you don't have to worry about the virtual DOM because React takes care of it for you.

Facebook support

Like Google backs Angular, React continues to be backed by Facebook. This means that you can be confident that React will be around for long.

Plus, there's a large community of React developers who are always creating new and innovative ways to use React.

What companies use React?

React is used by some of the biggest companies in the world, including:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Netflix
• Airbnb
• Yahoo! Mail
• Dropbox
• Discord
• Atlassian

React is also used by many smaller companies and startups because it's lightweight and easily applicable to single-page applications.

Similarities between React and Angular

Now that we've gone over some of the features of React, let's look at some similarities:

Popularity: Both React and Angular are very popular frameworks. In fact, React and Angular are the two most popular frontend frameworks globally. Both React and Angular also have large communities of developers who are always creating new libraries and tools.

Language: Both React and Angular are written in JavaScript. If you know JavaScript, you can learn either React or Angular.

Tooling: React and Angular have great developer tools that make debugging applications a breeze. React comes with the React Developer Tools browser extension, and Angular comes with the Angular CLI. Both of these tools are very helpful when you're trying to debug your code.

Architecture: Both React and Angular use a component-based architecture. This means that your application is divided into small reusable components.

Development environment: Both React and Angular are resources for frontend development.

Performance: Both React and Angular are very fast frameworks. React uses a virtual DOM, which makes it even faster.

Open source: Both React and Angular are open source frameworks. This means that anyone can contribute to the development of these frameworks.

Differences between React and Angular

There are also some differences between React and Angular:

Library vs framework: React is a library, while Angular is a framework. With React, you only get the view layer, while with Angular, you get a complete set of tools for development.

JSX vs. templates: React uses JSX, while Angular uses templates. JSX is a syntax extension of JavaScript that allows you to write HTML tags within JavaScript. Templates are HTML files that are compiled with Angular's template compiler.

Data binding: React uses one-way data binding, while Angular uses two-way data binding. With React, you can only update the state from the parent component. With Angular, you can update the state from both the parent and child components.

Below are some more key comparisons between Angular and React.

Usefulness

Angular is highly effective in cross-platform app development. Since cross-platform apps are written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, they can be run on multiple platforms such as Android, iOS, Windows, etc. React is also useful for cross-platform app development; however, it is not as effective as Angular.

That being said, Angular is much more complex than React and has a steeper learning curve. For this reason, React is more suitable for smaller projects, while Angular is better suited for larger projects.

Both have many useful features, but each has its own as well:

Angular features

Ajax support: Ajax is a technology that allows you to make asynchronous requests to the server. This means that you can make requests without having to reload the page. Angular's Ajax support makes it easy to make asynchronous requests to the server.

Typescript support: Angular is written in TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript. This means that you can use TypeScript to write Angular applications TypeScript is a typed language, which means that it can check for errors at compile time. This makes it easier to debug your code and find bugs.

Form validation: Angular comes with built-in form validation. You don't have to write your own form validation code. Additionally, Angular's form validation is easy to use and can be used with any form element.

Routing: Angular comes with a router library that makes adding routing to your application easily.

Angular CLI: The Angular CLI is a command-line interface that makes it easy to create, build, and test Angular applications.

React features

Create React App: Create React App is a tool that creates a development environment for React projects.

JSX: JSX is a syntax extension of JavaScript that allows you to write HTML tags within JavaScript. It makes it easy to create reusable components. Flux: Flux is a data architecture for React applications. It helps you manage the data in your application and keeps the data unidirectional. Instead of MVC/MVVM, Flux uses the unidirectional data flow.

React router: React Router is a routing library for React applications.

Redux: Redux is a state management library for React applications.

Declarative UI: React uses a declarative UI, which means that you can write your UI simpler and more readable.

Virtual DOM: React uses a virtual DOM, a JavaScript representation of the real DOM. This makes React faster than other frameworks because it doesn't have to update the entire DOM every time it changes.

React vs Angular: Which one should you choose?

In the end, both Angular and React have their pros and cons. It really depends on your needs as a developer to decide which one is better for you. If you need a more complex framework, then Angular is the way to go. React is the way to go if you need a simpler framework.

Whichever you choose, you will be able to create amazing applications.