JavaScript frameworks. Angular vs. React?
If you’re a software engineer in 2021 you’ve certainly used or come across both Angular and React. Both are amazing JavaScript libraries that allow you to create amazing projects. But which one is better? You may just be starting in the software world and you simply don’t know which one to choose, or maybe you already know one framework but you’re not sure if you should invest time in learning the second one. Well, let’s break it down for you.
React is a JavaScript library created for building UI by Facebook. React can be used to build components that manage their own state (the main focus in React), and then compose them to make complex UIs. Since component logic is written in JavaScript, you can then easily pass data through the app and keep state out of the DOM.
Angular is a full-blown framework created by Google based on Typescript. Google’s goal was to create a fully functional framework with tons and tons of features, and that’s what they’ve done. Now which one is more popular? Well, let’s break it down.
If you’re trying to find a job it makes the most sense to know both. Now I know I know, that’s not the answer you were looking for. But knowing more technologies is simply always going to help. However, with that said, if you check Stack Overflow questions, Indeed jobs, and also stars on Github, well then React is more popular. 1 point for React.
With that said, we all know that popularity isn’t what’s most important. What’s important is the product itself. So who is more powerful? When I say that, I mean which actually has more features and what can we build with each technology. Simply put, React is a very powerful UI library, but Angular has a lot more features than React. Angular will give you routing, animations, authentication, lazy loading (a design pattern commonly used in computer programming and mostly in web design and development to defer initialization of an object until the point at which it is needed) pipes, directives, and more. So simply put, Angular is a more powerful framework right out of the box. Point for Angular 1–1.
Now let’s talk about the ease of upgrading when using each technology. Technologies are always evolving, and as a developer, you need to keep an eye on that. Every few months it’s likely they both will release something new. If you are working with React you are likely also working with third-party libraries and if your new version is not compatible with the previous, something might break. That’s something you will need to keep an eye out for. With Angular, your best friend and will be Angular CLI. The Angular CLI is a command-line interface tool that you can use to develop and more importantly, maintain Angular applications right from a command shell. If you’re working with Angular or will be, go ahead and install it now. You’ll thank me.
Another point for Angular … 2 -1.
Now let’s say you are a new developer and want to learn your first technology to land your first job. Well, then the answer is actually pretty simple. You should learn React. Why? React is a smaller and lightweight framework and it has fewer features so it’s simply easier to learn. Also, it will give you a lot more chances to get a job. Just look at the numbers from 2019 on Linkedin.
Point for React … 2 -2.
So what’s the bottom line! Well, you’re not going to make a mistake if you learn either one. If you are looking for a little more freedom to interact with other frameworks and libraries, then React is the way to go (again just my opinion). Now if you are a more developed team with a strong knowledge of TypeScript, well than a big framework like Angular, with the features that it provides is the right way to go (so I say). In the end, they are both amazing pieces of tech, and if you are in this field and you’ve read this far, then learn both. You won’t regret it. Happy coding!
