Franco Brutti
Are you starting in the world of programming? If so, you've surely noticed the number of tools that exist to create your project and one of them is Angular.
It’s a Javascript framework that allows you to create single-page applications.
Did you know that once you create it Google takes care of the maintenance and updating? It’s definitely a golden opportunity to create your program regardless of its size.
Take advantage of the latest developments with minimal effort with the information we will give you below:
What is Angular?
First, let's start by defining what Angular is. It’s a framework that is written in TypeScript code. Its main goal is to create scalable pages, that is, a collection of libraries that are integrated with each other and cover multiple features, form management, client-server communication, and routing.
What we love about Angular is that we can create projects starting from scratch and gradually scale them up to a 100% enterprise platform.
In addition, it has an ecosystem of up to 1.7 million developers, so no matter how many questions you have, you'll always find a solution. Read on to find out how you can apply it.
Do I really need a Framework?
If you’ve come this far, you are probably wondering what the use of a framework is, since we are using more and more tools to create and maintain our programs.
Let's see, a framework is a technological support structure that works as a base for software development. In other words, it’s a kind of template that gives you the possibility to work faster and easier, saving you time and money.
Therefore, it’s a more than interesting alternative to create much more professional programs.
6 Advantages of learning Angular
There are many advantages that Angular offers for your day-to-day. Let's see some of them below:
1. Custom components
We couldn’t start in any other way than with custom components. You as a user have the complete freedom to build your components so that you can package rendering logic along with functionality to create reusable pieces of programming code.
It's time to unleash your creativity and with Angular, you can do just that.
2. Data Binding
Secondly, we have data bindings, where you can move from javascript code effortlessly. Moreover, you can react to any user events and you won't have to code anything manually.
What do you think? No doubt that it’s a more comfortable and practical way of working.
3. Dependency injection
With this framework, you will have the possibility to write modular services to inject them wherever you want. This will significantly improve your testing capabilities and you will reuse the services as many times as necessary.
4. Testing
There’s no doubt that testing is a first-class tool and Angular offers you multiple alternatives for you to test as many times as necessary so that your project comes out perfectly.
No matter what part of your application you want to check. With Angular, you can do it in a very short time and with practically no effort. Install it and you will see what we’re talking about.
5. Integral
How important it is to use a platform that adapts to your needs with practically no limitations. Well, that's what Angular offers you, a set of ready-made solutions for routing within your app, server communication, and much more.
Try it out and you'll see what we're talking about.
6. Browser compatibility
We can't forget about the fact that Angular is cross-platform, so it's compatible with several browsers out there today.
Once you have your Angular app you will be able to run it on Mozilla, Chrome, and any operating system.
9 Angular Features
Angular has many features that make it unique today. Some of them are:
1. DOM
First, we find the DOM, which treats an XML or HTML document as a tree structure where each of the nodes represents a part of the file.
The interesting thing is that Angular uses DOM on a regular basis and 10 updates are made to the same HTML site. So instead of updating each one individually, the system updates the entire tree structure of html tags.
2. TypeScript
Secondly, we have TypeScript, which is a set of JavaScript types that helps users to write in this programming language.
We all know that JavaScript is much easier to understand than others, so TypeScript is compiled with this language so that you can run it on any platform without any inconvenience.
In this sense, this set of types is not mandatory to work in Angular, but it’s highly recommended because it gives you a better syntactic structure, making it much easier to understand for everyone.
3. Data binding
On the other hand, we have the data binding that allows all users to manipulate the elements of the web through a general browser. For this, it uses a dynamic HTML and no kind of command or programming is necessary.
We love it because data binding is used on sites that have various interactive elements such as tutorials, calculators, games, and forums. It also allows for better visualization of the web when they have a lot of data around them.
4. Testing
And yes, testing is essential when programming, and for that, the platform uses the testing framework called Jasmine, which offers multiple ways to recreate evaluation cases and thus determine what you can improve.
5. Speed and performance
It’s important to understand that Angular has a code generation that gives you the ability to convert your templates into 100% optimized code.
This way, it makes your job easier if you have a website that is optimizing for SEO and your Angular files load quickly.
6. Productivity
One of the reasons why we love Angular is because it allows you to create client interface views with a syntax that is very easy to understand, especially if you compare it with other languages.
On the other hand, you can create command lines in no time and add components and different implementations to it instantly.
7. Mobile and desktop compatibility
You have to take into account that Angular works both for developing mobile and desktop apps, so no matter what project you have in mind, you will surely achieve it with this framework.
You should also consider that it is compatible with all types of web browsers. Avoid inconveniences and opt for a language that will help you make the leap you need so much.
8. Directives
It’s important for you to know that HTML files are extended thanks to directives that are enabled by developers when they add the ng prefix to any of the attributes of this hypertext language.
Currently, there are different types of directives that are really interesting to create different actions such as relating the content of an HTML element to the database of your app or determining that the content of a post should be replaced by another template.
Limitations of Angular
It’s true that Angular is a platform that offers many benefits, but it’s also true that it has certain limitations that you should take into account before starting to use it.
Relax, it’s not a big deal, in fact, all apps have advantages and disadvantages that you should objectively evaluate before working with it.
1. Quite steep learning curve
Let's start with the learning curve, which is steeper than many people think.
When you start studying the project you will realize that you will have to handle different components such as decorators, modules, directives, templates, and dependency services.
So, there are many topics that for novice developers can be somewhat complicated to learn. Therefore, you have to take your time to start moving forward.
2. Limited SEO alternatives
A big disadvantage that we can't overlook is that its SEO alternatives are more limited than we would like.
It has very little to do with SEO metrics and its accessibility is poor for search engines. Therefore, if you are looking to position your website at the top of Google, this is not the project to achieve it.
3. Complexity
It’s true that this framework is quite complicated, especially when it comes to writing. This language has many lines of code that not everyone understands, especially if they are novice programmers.
The ideal plan is to learn the basics and then enter the world of the framework. Only then you will be able to get the most out of it.
4. Migration
One of the reasons why many companies don't use Angular is because they can't move lines of code based on a js query architecture to an Angular-style one. Also, every time there’s a new version it’s complex to update and on many occasions, they’re not compatible with the previous ones, which generates a new problem.
Versions and uses of Angular
There are many versions of Angular today and it is very important that you know each one, since its version number explains the amount of changes that each one introduces.
Let's see in detail below:
1. Major release
It has quite interesting features, and minimal programmer involvement is expected during the platform update.
Here you will most likely have to run different scripts, run additional tests and refactor the code to be successful.
2. Minor release
Secondly, we have a minor release. Here we find features that don’t require our assistance as a programmer, but we can modify our libraries and applications to use new API and functions provided by the project.
3. Patch release
Finally, we have the patch release, which is a version that fixed the low-risk bugs made by the other releases.
It’s striking how in this case the programmer's attention is not required under any circumstances.
What do you think about all this? Maybe learning Angular is easier than you imagined, let us know your experience, and don't hesitate.
Jun 26, 2023