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Angular or React: Which One to Choose for Your App?

From a managerial standpoint.

According to Statista, React and Angular are two of the most popular web frameworks among developers worldwide in 2020. But which one suits you best for you and your purposes?

At a first glance, it doesn’t make sense to compare Angular vs React, as the first one is a framework, and the second one is a library. However, both names appear very often when it comes to developing interactive applications. Both are suitable for this, but their approaches are very different.

Brief Overview

React

React is a JavaScript library developed by Facebook. It was introduced in March 2013. React is much more popular on Facebook that Angular on Google. Here you have significantly more freedom than with Angular. But React is not suitable for implementing an MVC architecture since it only has one view; you have to solve the model and the controller yourself. In this case, however, this offers almost only advantages.

A big advantage is that React uses a virtual DOM that only compares the previous HTML code differences and only loads the different parts. This has a significantly positive effect on the loading times of the application. With React, the markup and the logic are handled in the same file, which means you can also output variables in a view component (JSX). React also offers a solution for mobile applications called React-Native.

Angular

Angular is an open-source JavaScript framework for web and mobile development. It is TypeScript-based and managed by Google’s Angular Team and the Angular developer community. Launched in September 2016, Angular (also known as Angular 2.0) is a complete rewrite of AngularJS (Angular 1.0), which was introduced in 2010.

There have been 11 versions of Angular already, and the latest release took place in November 2020.

Angular is a full-fledged framework for software development, which usually does not require additional libraries. All the above-mentioned functions - data binding, component-based routing, project generation, form validation, and dependency injection - can be implemented with the means of the Angular package.

React vs Angular - What Do They Have in Common?

Both provide a basic solution for web development.

They are component-based and offer the possibility of breaking down an application into smaller components and writing them with a consistent API.

The great advantage of the components is that they can be reused, reassembled, and tested individually. Both solutions offer a mature, classic architecture for development in Javascript. With this architecture, cross-platform applications for Windows, Mac, and Linux can be developed.

Both are subject to the MIT license and can therefore be used free of charge by everyone. They also have in common that both have a large community behind them that maintain the frameworks.

Angular vs React: The Decision

On one side, Angular is a complete toolbox that offers you everything from development to testing when building a web application. And on the other side, React is a flexible library that requires support from other libraries for development.

Choose Angular if you need:

- To develop a large and multifunctional application.
- Reliable and scalable framework.
- Real-time applications, such as chat or messaging applications.
- Native apps, mashups, or web apps that are long-term and substantial investment projects.
- Programming in TypeScript.
- Object-oriented programming.

Choose React if you need:

- Lightweight modern enterprise-grade applications in a short time.
- Flexible work and secure solutions for website development.
- To develop cross-platform or single-page applications.
- To expand the functionality of an existing application.
- Strong community support and solutions.

To Sum Up: Best Front-end Frameworks

Angular and React differ in terms of interaction within the community. This is a key aspect for novice developers - if the community is large, active, ready to help newbies.

There is no definitive, up-to-date documentation for React. The product is open source, and daily new libraries appear there. For experienced developers, this is a definite plus, but it is not easy for beginners to understand the properties, functions, and processes of using new libraries. New React modules appear as developers solve a specific problem within his project and create a new library. Then he shares his best practices in the public domain, accompanying them with a short guide. If another developer has questions regarding the use of this library, he should ask the author.

Angular makes it easier to find the information you need. A beginner does not have to contact experts from the community. The product comes with detailed documentation with guidelines for it. If the documentation is not clear enough, you can consult with community members on any popular platform where developers exchange experience.

Choosing between Angular or React, specialists focus on the specifics of the project. Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses as well as a community of thousands of developers from dozens of countries. Both Angular and React are evolving and improving. React entered the market three years earlier, so the developers managed to improve it and make it more convenient to use. But Angular can quickly close the gap and offer users meaningful, unique benefits.

However, the right framework’s choice depends heavily on the project’s requirements and the development team.

Source References

[ FULCRUM ]
[ freeCodeCamp ]
[ Statista ]