Angular
Angular is a platform for building mobile and desktop web applications. Join the community of millions of developers who build compelling user interfaces
What is Angular?
Angular is a powerful open-source framework used for application design. It was primarily geared for developing single-page (SPA) web applications, now it has become a full-fledged framework and development platform used to build efficient apps for any web, mobile web, native desktop and mobile deployment purposes. Angular is based on TypeScript, an open-source programming language.
It was developed by Google, and now has widespread support and maintenance from the global community of Angular professionals and enthusiasts. Angular is the most viable option when it comes to creating actionable apps for businesses of any type and size: from start-ups to mid-sized companies to large-scale enterprises.
Why to choose Angular
Angular: Key Facts
Software category – Web framework
Based on – TypeScript, an open-source programming language
Developed by – Google team
What application types to develop? – Native and hybrid apps for mobile and desktop, web applications
Is Angular easy to learn? – The learning curve is quite steep. Some prerequisite knowledge of JavaScript, CSS, HTML, RESTful API, Webpack, Node is strongly needed.
Why do developers choose Angular? – In case they need to leverage the benefits of a structure-based framework.
What is Angular’s architecture model? – The app framework is based on the MVC (Model-View-Controller) software design pattern.
Does Angular have global community support? – A widespread community of framework enthusiasts and developers from all over the world, with nearly 70K of professional supporters on GitHub.
What top companies and brands are using Angular? – Leveraged and used by Google, Microsoft, Deutsche Bank, Forbes, YouTube TV, Xbox, Wix, Udacity, etc.
What is the MEAN solution pack? –
• MongoDB – a NoSQL document database;
• Express.js – a modular back-end web app framework;
• Angular –app framework for developing SPA (single-page applications);
• Node.js – back-end JS runtime environment.
The difference between Angular and AngularJS
Today, Angular is a widely known client-side app framework for developing efficient dynamic business applications of any type and scale. However, there is still an ambiguity among beginning developers about Angular and AngularJS. Similar names may imply that these two web frameworks are identical. Not quite. Technically speaking, Angular is a successor of AngularJS, its radical overhaul redesigned by the Google team from the ground up. The complete improvement was required to address new technology challenges and the ever-growing needs of users. For clarification purposes, the newly reworked version acquired a new name. Unlike JavaScript-based AngularJS, Angular is written in TypeScript, a superset of JS. Cross-platform capabilities are what make the Angular development environment gain much traction among professionals. With every new version release, here come new actionable features that enable developers to create progressive applications for multiple platforms, including native and hybrid web, desktop, and mobile apps for enterprises.
The benefits of using Angular for business
A scope of Angular’s advantageous features for web app development can be boiled down to the following five core benefits.
1. Full-fledged app development ecosystem
Getting application developers everything they need just out of the box is what Angular is designed for. There is no need to look for additional libraries, components, or extensions since the web framework is empowered with an extensive built-in library and efficient set of tools for robust business app development. However, if customers’ needs go beyond standard solutions – there are plenty of external tools that can be seamlessly integrated for the sake of enhanced functionality.
2. Cross-platform app development
As a flexible front-end framework, Angular enables smooth app development. When coupled with NativeScript, developers can build native Android and iOS applications with one and the same software architecture. Angular can also be powered with other frameworks and SDKs, like Cordova or Ionic to ensure rich business app development for web and mobile while using the same technology stack. On top of this, it allows for smooth desktop-installed apps creation for Linux, Mac, and Windows along with easy access to native APIs.
3. Improved speed and performance
Angular enjoys a range of effective methods and capabilities to improve the experiences of writing, deploying, and using business applications. The synergy of leveraging TypeScript, routing, lazy-load modules, dependency injection, Angular CLI (Command-line Interface), two-way data binding, IDEs (WebStorm, VS Code), and template syntax – all this contributes greatly to the overall development and operational performance boost.
4. Modular structure
Programming code in Angular is structured into smaller reusable pieces called modules. This division makes it easy to optimize the development workflow by assigning different module-related tasks to various dev team members. Secondly, it helps improve QA testing, since each unit can be tested separately. Moreover, modules enable lazy loading, meaning that some of the app modules can be run in the background waiting till users need to access them.
5. Rich collection of libraries and packages
There is a plethora of supplementary pre-built resources available for seasoned app developers, from both the Google team and the global community. The most important are NgRx, NGX Bootstrap, NGXS, Prime NG, NG Bootstrap, Onsen UI, Vaadin Components, NG-ZORRO, NG Lightning, ClarityNG2 Charts, and many others. To say nothing of Angular Universal, a pre-rendering server-side (SSR) solution, Angular Services that combine app UI and business logic, and Angular Material – a UI component library that has lots of high-quality ready-to-use Material Design components, like datepickers, menus, grid lists, bars, controls, toggles, buttons, and other navigational elements.
