React Vs Angular : Which One To Choose?
Selecting a framework to develop applications is crucial. After proper research in analyzing the broad range of frameworks, choosing between two popular frameworks, react JS and angular JS is a matter of debate. The reason for the debate is their immense popularity among developers.
According to the Stack Overflow Survey 2021, React js took the first position with 40.1% of the votes, and Angular got the fourth position with 22.96% as per developers. But still, the confusion is, react application is better or Angular? What is the difference between the two frameworks, and how do select the one for development?
We cannot end up with the results, which framework is better. Still, it is best to dig deep into the top development frameworks, their features, and much more to understand which framework will suit your development requirements.
What is React?
React is a front-end library framework based on JavaScript that helps you create user interfaces (U.I.) using declarative programming. React lets developers visualize how their applications will appear to the application users and how they will interact with them once they launch them.
React js developers prefer it for web apps and to create native-style mobile apps.
Famous companies that have selected React are Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, and more.
What is Angular?
Angular is a typescript-based development platform and a component-based framework for developing highly scalable web applications. The angular framework has several well-integrated libraries and features, such as routing, client-server communication, etc.
It also has various developer tools to create and scale projects ranging from single-page to enterprise-grade applications. Angular keeps on updating currently; Angular 14 is available for developers with the latest features designed by Google's Angular team.
Angular V.S. React Comparison
Parameter | Angular | React |
Founded |
It was founded by Hevery in 2009 |
It was founded by Jorden waalke in 2013 |
Best for |
It is used to develop highly active and interactive web application |
It is used to develop large web application |
Application Size |
Small |
Small |
Programming Language |
Typescript |
Javascript |
Syntex |
Real DOM |
Virtual DOM |
Data Binding |
It offers two-way data binding |
It offers one-way data binding |
Performance |
High |
High |
Scalability |
Modular structure |
Component-based approach |
Dynamic UI Binding |
UI binding at plain objects |
Direct linking |
Learning Curve |
The learning curve is moderate |
The learning curve is steep |
Opinionation |
Less Opinionation |
Flexible Opinionation |
Price |
Open-source |
Open-source |
GitHub Stars |
41,871 |
113,719 |
UI Rendering |
Client/Server side |
Client/Server side |
Type |
Library |
Framework |
Migration |
API upgrade |
Codemod script |
Additional Requirements |
No to minimum |
Yes |
Architecture |
MVC |
Flux/Redux |
What is the Purpose of Reactjs?
Reactjs is an open-source framework. It's used to handle the application's view layer, and developers prefer it for creating reusable UI components. Changing the information without refreshing the page is quite quick and scalable.
Also, reactjs is used in large-scale applications to load data without refreshing the pages.
Why Choose Reactjs?
1) Unlike Angular, developers must use external entities to access Reactjs' specific functions and acquire fully interactive functionality.
2) It has Redux-like state containers for rapid react.js development of scalable applications with dynamic elements and rendering management.
3) It converts JSX to Javascript to get superior browser compatibility.
4) Code bundlers, for example, web packs, are required.
5) Using a URL routing library, such as ReactRouter.
Drawbacks of Using Reactjs
1) React developers need to relearn new techniques to accomplish similar tasks constantly, making developers uneasy because they need to adapt and update their skills.
2) Only the UI layers of apps are covered by React, which makes you rely on technologies for tools to help you move ahead with your projects.
When To Consider React?
1) Dashboards or Data Visualization Tools:
If your application requires data visualization tools or dashboards, you must look for the Reactjs library to develop the application.
2) Social Media Platform
If you want to make social networking apps, you must opt for react app development because it boosts the client-to-server performance while making the app more dynamic and responsive for the end-user.
3) E-commerce vs. retail:
When you use React to develop a retail store or an e-commerce platform, you can keep the app's features running even if one of them crashes or breaks.
4) Cross-platform mobile apps:
You can use the same architecture to build web and mobile applications with React Native.
Features of React
1) Virtual DOM:
A Virtual Object Model is a hierarchical representation of a web page. It is a copy of the DOM that incorporates a memory reconciliation algorithm which further allows React to clone any web page into its virtual memory. The ReactDOM library keeps these two versions in sync.
2) JSX:
JSX allows HTML tags to be transformed into React components. In other words, it allows you to directly insert and merge HTML with custom tags in JavaScript code, which is very useful.
3) One-Way Data Binding:
Because the data flow is one-way, developers have more control over their web and mobile applications. Thanks to this feature as developers can not edit any component without using the callback function. Thus, one-way data-binding improves control and makes applications more flexible and capable.
What is Angular Good For?
Angular is also a standalone solution for developing data-driven web applications in less time.
It is the most reliable and efficient framework in terms of code efficiency. Angular also has the model-view-controller capability, which enhances the functionality of browser-based applications by reducing the amount of javascript code required to keep the app functional and stable.
Why choose Angular?
1) Rxjs and AngularCLI are built-in features in Angular that make it effortless to develop data exchange channels and handle events independently. Using Angular, adding files, creating apps, and debugging a project is now a cakewalk.
2) When it comes to Angular, the server-side rendering is fast.
3) Running components in parallel boost developers' efforts and saves lines of code.
4) Improves overall performance.
Drawbacks of using Angular
1) Angular is difficult to debug, especially for developers who know n-tier architectures. Similarly, debugging in large apps is a difficult task.
2) Angular-based apps do not support old devices because the browser is busy controlling the DOM elements and requires many external resources. On the other hand, modern devices do not have the performance tradeoff factor; there will be no problem.
When to Consider Angular?
A) Video Streaming Software:
You've probably seen Angular if you remember the PlayStation 3 version of YouTube. Using Angular, Google replaced the mouse movements with virtual keystrokes, letting gamers to navigate YouTube without and problem.
So, if you are planning to create a video streaming app with smooth functionality across multiple platforms, you must consider Angular for sure.
B) E-Commerce Applications:
Angular aids in the reduction of e-commerce application wait times. Thus, the development companies use Angular to reduce the waiting times by implementing server-side rendering.
C) Real-Time Data Application:
You can rely on Angular if you want to develop a customized application that fetches real-time data. And the most popular website named Weather.com used Angular to include real-time weather updates, and the project was a success.
D) Portals for User-Generated Content:
If you want to create a e or app with user-generated content, the Angular application is your best option once again.
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Features of Angular
A) MVC Architecture:
The architectural pattern Model-View-Controller divides a single application into three logical components, say model, view, and controller. Each component has a distinct function in the app. MVC is the most popular architecture for creating scalable and extensible projects.
The Model component manages all application data, while the View components keep track of and manage your data display. On the other hand, the Controller component serves as a link between the model and view layers.
B) Two-Way Data Binding:
It indicates that data is shared between a specific component class and the template. As a result, if one side's data changes, the other will be effected automatically.
Two-way data binding also reduces development time by ensuring that the View layer depicts the Model layer without change or smooth synchronization.
C) Virtual Scrolling:
It takes a long time to render elements which slows down the DOM. By creating similar heights for total elements available for rendering, virtual scrolling allows an efficient way to simulate all rendered items.
Angular vs React: Which One To Choose?
Both these technologies have their own set of features and benefits. The decision between Angular and React must depend upon the project type.
Angular is the most comprehensive solution, and React, on the other hand, is extremely adaptable, with features, frameworks, libraries, and tools.
Additionally, React appears to be an easy language to learn. With React, you can start working on a project right away. However, to fully utilize React's capabilities, you must also have the knowledge and experience working with JavaScript frameworks and tools.
Furthermore, Angular appears to be complicated because it has a steep learning curve. Once past the learning curve, you will find that Angular is a lot easier to maintain, especially for large-scale apps and projects.
Wrapping up:
Finally, we concluded that we could not choose any technology to develop projects.
Reactjs is the go-to option for developing an application with a short learning curve. Developers can use Angular to build enterprise-grade applications with large development teams because the higher learning curve is not a barrier.
Overall, Reactjs is a simple way to get the job done because it doesn't have much to do with organizing HTML and instead focuses on the simplest ways to reuse UI components.
However, the final decision will be yours; you can hire web development services and develop applications as per your project requirements.