As a leading JavaScript framework for building web applications, Angular’s popularity continues to rise among developers, solidifying its place in the ever-evolving landscape of web development.

In a previous blog, we discussed how we could optimize Angular applications. Now, it’s time to look into why despite being a highly structured and rigid framework- Angular is still vastly preferred for the development of web applications. 

So, let’s get into it:

What is Angular?

Angular is a popular development platform for building complex and large-scale web and mobile applications. Angular has a component-based framework, integrated libraries, and developer tools.

What are the advantages of Angular?

The applications developed using Angular grant many added advantages during web development and even after deployment compared to the rest of the frameworks out there. 

These include but are not limited to the following:

• Scalability

Angular’s architecture and features are designed to build and support large and complex applications, making it well-suited for projects that are expected to grow over time.

• Improved maintainability

Angular’s component-based architecture and dependency injection system make it easy to organize and maintain code, reducing the risk of bugs and making it easier to update and scale the application.

• Good Quality Applications

Angular’s built-in libraries and other features aid developers in engineering applications that are incredibly versatile and accommodating to expanding user requirements.

• Speed and Performance

Angular features such as template syntax, Angular CLI, routers, etc., facilitate the developer’s job by enabling easy and speedy loading of all applications. In addition, Angular is compatible with various backend programming languages and displays data amassed by the UI elements.

• Improved developer productivity

 Angular’s powerful features, such as two-way data binding, templates, and dependency injection, make it easier for developers to build and maintain web applications, resulting in a faster development process.

• Large and active community

 Angular has a large and active community of developers who contribute to the framework, provide support and resources, and create third-party libraries and tools that can be used with Angular.

• Strongly Typed

Angular uses TypeScript, a strongly typed language that makes web development more stable and less prone to errors. It also makes it easier to debug and maintain the code.

• Support

Angular is backed by Google, which means it has a dedicated team of developers constantly working on improving and updating the framework and providing support to the community.

Component-based Architecture

Angular’s component-based architecture is designed to make it easier for developers to build and maintain web applications by breaking them down into smaller, reusable components. Each component represents a small, self-contained piece of the application that can be easily understood, modified, and tested independently of the rest of the application.

This approach has several advantages for the web development process:

• Modularity: It is simpler to comprehend and modify the code when an application is split into smaller parts. Each component plays a distinct and defined purpose, making it easy to find and modify particular application elements.

• Reusability: Components can be utilized in multiple areas of the application, which cuts down on the amount of coding required and makes it simpler to maintain consistency throughout the application.

• Isolation: Components are isolated from each other, which means that changes to one component are less likely to affect other parts of the application. It makes it easier to test and debug the application. For further reference, you can read more about the standalone component feature introduced in Angular 14.

• Hierarchical structure: It is possible to organize components in a hierarchical structure, which makes it simple to comprehend how data flows through the application and how various components relate to one another.

• Easier testing: Components are self-contained, so it is easy to test in isolation without setting up the entire application. It speeds up the testing process and makes identifying and fixing bugs easier.

Two-way data binding

Angular has an MVVM software architectural setup. Two-way data binding in Angular is a feature that allows changes in the model (i.e., the data) to automatically update the view (i.e., the user interface) and vice versa. When the model changes, the view updates automatically to reflect the new data. When the user interacts with the view, the model updates automatically to reflect the new user input.

This feature is achieved through directives, such as ngModel, which binds an HTML element to a property in the component’s class. When the user changes the element, the property is updated automatically, and when the property is updated in the component’s class, the element updates automatically.

Two-way data binding has several advantages in the web development process:

• Simplifies the code: With two-way data binding, developers don’t have to write separate code for updating the view and model. It eliminates the need to manually update the view each time the model changes and vice versa.

• Improved user experience: Two-way data binding ensures the view is always in sync with the model, providing the user with an up-to-date view of the data.

• Reduces the risk of errors: Since the view and the model are kept in sync automatically, it reduces the risk of errors caused by mismatched data and makes it easier to debug the application.

• Better performance: Angular uses change detection to detect changes in the model and updates the view accordingly. This mechanism allows Angular to be more performant than other frameworks that use a digest cycle, as Angular only updates the changed components.

Streamlining the Web development process

Two-way data binding streamlines the web development process by eliminating the need for developers to manually write code to keep the view and model in sync.

• Reduced boilerplate code: With two-way data binding, developers don’t have to write separate code for updating the view and model, which decreases the bulk of boilerplate code that needs to be written. As a result, it makes the development process more efficient and less prone to errors.

• Improved developer productivity: Two-way data binding allows developers to focus on the application’s logic rather than spending time writing and maintaining code for updating the view. This results in a faster development process and allows developers to be more productive.

• Better collaboration: When working on a team, two-way data binding allows different team members to work on different parts of the application independently without worrying about how their work will affect the rest of the application.

• Simplified testing: Two-way data binding makes it easier to test the application, as developers only need to test the component’s class and its template rather than having to test both the class and the template separately.

Dependency Injection

Angular’s dependency injection (DI) system is a feature that allows components to access services and other dependencies without having to create or instantiate them directly. Instead, the dependencies are provided to the component by Angular’s DI system, which is responsible for creating and managing the dependencies.

The DI system uses a provider, a configuration object that tells Angular how to create a dependency, such as where to find the class or factory function that creates the dependency and how to configure it. When a component requires a dependency, it specifies its constructor’s dependency or uses the @Injectable() decorator. Angular’s DI system will automatically create and provide the dependency to the component.

The DI system has several advantages for the web development process:

• Improved testability: Since the DI system provides dependencies, it’s easy to replace them with mock objects during testing, which makes it easier to test components in isolation and reduces the risk of bugs. 

• Improved maintainability: Components are less tightly coupled to their dependencies using dependency injection, making it easier to update or e them without affecting the rest of the application.

• Improved reusability: Using dependency injection, components can be reused in different parts of the application without changing the component’s code.

• Better organization: By using dependency injection, developers can organize their code more modularly, making it easier to understand and maintain.

Maintainability of Web Apps 

Dependency Injection (DI) improves the maintainability of web apps by making the application less tightly coupled and more modular.

 The following are some ways in which DI can improve maintainability:

• Loose coupling: Using DI, components are less tightly coupled to their dependencies. It means that changes to a dependency will not affect the components that use it, making it easier to update or replace them without affecting the rest of the application.

• High cohesion: DI makes it easier to organize the code more modularly by creating small, focused, and reusable components. It makes it easier to understand the code and reduces the risk of bugs.

• Decoupling of concerns: DI allows developers to separate the concerns of the application, such as data access, business logic, and UI, into different components that can be managed and developed independently.

• Easier to test: By injecting the dependencies, it’s easy to replace them with mock objects during testing, which makes it easier to test components in isolation and reduces the risk of bugs.

• Reusability:- Using dependency injection, you can reuse components in different parts of the application without changing the component’s code.

• Better separation of concerns: Dependency injection allows for the separation of the concerns of the application, such as data access, business logic, and UI, into different components that can be managed and developed independently.

Angular’s Template System

Angular’s template system is a feature that allows developers to define the structure and layout of a component’s user interface using a combination of HTML, CSS, and Angular’s template language. The template language is a set of directives, such as ngFor and ngIf, that can add dynamic behavior to the template.

When a component is rendered, the template is transformed into the actual user interface by Angular, using the data and logic provided by the component’s class. It allows developers to separate the concerns of the user interface and the component’s logic, making the code more organized and easier to maintain.

Angular’s template system has several advantages for the development process:

• Simplifies the code: Angular’s template system allows developers to define the structure and layout of the user interface using HTML and CSS, which are standard technologies for most web developers. It simplifies the web development process and reduces the amount of code that needs to be written.

• Improved readability: Angular’s template language is designed to be simple and easy to read, which makes it easy to understand how the user interface is constructed and how it interacts with the component’s logic.

• Dynamic behavior: Angular’s template language provides directives, such as ngFor and ngIf, that can add dynamic behavior to the template, such as displaying a list of items or conditionally rendering an element.

• Better separation of concerns: Angular’s template system allows developers to separate the concerns of the user interface and the component’s logic, which makes it easier to understand and maintain the code.

• Reusability: Angular’s templates can be reused across different components, reducing the amount of code that needs to be written and making it easier to maintain consistency across the application.

Simplified Web Development

• Familiar technologies: Angular’s template system allows developers to define the structure and layout of the user interface using HTML and CSS, which are familiar technologies to most web developers. This reduces the learning curve and makes it easy for developers to get started with Angular.

• Simple and easy to read: Angular’s template language is designed to be simple and easy to read, which makes it easy to understand how the user interface is constructed and how it interacts with the component’s logic. This improves code readability and reduces the risk of errors.

• Dynamic behavior: Angular’s template language provides directives, such as ngFor and ngIf, that can be used to add dynamic behavior to the template, such as displaying a list of items or conditionally rendering an element. This eliminates the need to write complex logic in the component’s class and it makes the code more readable.

Conclusion

Angular is a powerful tool for web development that offers a wide range of benefits. It allows for efficient and organized code structure, easy implementation of complex features, and a seamless user experience. With its constantly evolving framework and active community, Angular is well-suited for small and large-scale projects. In addition, its ability to adapt and improve with the latest web development trends makes it a good choice for any developer looking to build dynamic and innovative web applications. With its powerful features, Angular empowers developers to push the boundaries of what is possible on the web and create genuinely exceptional user experiences.