React vs. Angular in 2021: React: Which JavaScript framework to use?
React vs. Angular in 2021: React: Which JavaScript framework to use?
If you plan to launch a web application for your company, you will have to decide which framework/library to use. You might be weighing up React vs. Angular and wondering which JavaScript framework/library you should use for your plan. This article describes the pros and cons of both and what factors you should consider when making your choice.
React and Angular JS: what are they, and why are they important?
React, also known as React.js or Reactjs, is a JavaScript library that can create user interfaces. Your development team can use React to design simple views for each state of your application. React has components whose logic write in JavaScript, and React updates and renders the appropriate elements as data changes.
Angular is an open-source, TypeScript-based frontend framework rewritten from the JavaScript-based AngularJS web framework.
Can use AngularJS to develop applications that use the Model View Controller (MVC) architecture pattern, which means that the application’s data model, presentation information, and control information are separated. AngularJS also supports the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM), which separates the user interface control from business logic.
Angular uses a component hierarchy instead of controllers, which is different from AngularJS. Another difference from AngularJS is the use of TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript typed into Angular, and Angular has its UI components called Angular Material.
A brief history of React and Angular
Jordan Walke of Facebook had invented React, but it was then known as FaxJS. Facebook introduced it in its news feed in 2011 and implemented it on Instagram in 2012. The first open-source version of React dates back to 2013, maintained by a community of developers collaborating with Facebook. In 2015, Facebook released React Native open-source for native development on Android and iOS.
Miško Hevery of Brat Tech LLC had developed AngularJS in 2009, and the first open-source version dates back to 2010. Google and the developer community now maintain this framework. As of July 2018, it is in long-term support mode (LTS), which means that unless there are serious problems, there will be no new version of AngularJS. Google conducted a project to rewrite it entirely and released Angular in 2016.
Responding to Angular popularity
It would help if you had clarity on React vs. Angular’s popularity, as this is the main deciding factor on which you can choose one over the other. The following information can help you evaluate the popularity of React vs. Angular:
The 2019 HackerRank Developer Skills Report noted that React tops the web frameworks that developers want to learn, with Angular in second place. The report stated that 30% of developers want to learn React in 2019, compared to 20% for Angular.
The HackerRank report mentioned above stated that 30% of developers were familiar with Angular in 2018, making it the most familiar framework. React ranked second as 26% of developers were familiar with it. The report suggests that the lack of backward compatibility between Angular 2 and Angular 1 is a possible reason why React will be the most common structure in 2019.
On the opposite cards, the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2019 revealed that jQuery is the most popular web framework, but React and Angular follow and rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively. React was preferred by 31.3% of developers and Angular by 30.7%.
The survey also noted that React is the most preferred web framework by developers, with 74.5% of developers choosing it. Angular ranks 9th, with 57.6% of developers picking it.
Angular vs. React JS: the differences
Let’s now understand the differences between Angular and React JS, which are as follows:
React is a JavaScript library, while Angular is a framework. Angular is a complete solution, while you can bundle React with other libraries.
The data flow in Angular is bidirectional. When the user interface is changed, the model changes automatically, and vice versa is also true. On the other hand, React has a one-way data flow, which means that changing UI elements is only possible after changing the model state.
Angular updates the actual Document Object Model (DOM), the programming interface for HTML and XML documents
Angular uses Typescript, a statically composed language that provides static typing, classes, and interfaces. Writing code in Typescript makes the code more robust because it identifies and fixes common errors. In comparison, React makes use of
The advantages of React over Angular
let’s look at their advantages
The advantages of React are as follows:
Easy to create dynamic user interfaces: React is based on JavaScript and JSX, an XML-like language. With React, it is easier to create dynamic user interfaces.
Protection toward cyber-attacks: Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a significant security risk for web applications according to the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) 2017 Top 10 Report, and React built-in protection against it. React doesn’t allow dependency injection, so it also protects against another significant risk mentioned in the OWASP 2017 Top 10 report.
Versatility and easy testing: React uses Redux, a predictable state container for JavaScript applications. Redux allows programmers to write applications that can run in different environments, such as client, server, or native, making testing more accessible.
Better user involvement: Developers using React can create applications with a better user experience because React uses the virtual DOM.
Improved developer productivity: React allows you to use reusable components. Since these components are separate, changing one piece does not affect another. These factors help the programmer save time.
Easy code base management: The data binding approach in React is unidirectional, so child entities’ changes do not affect parent entities.
The advantages of Angular are:
Out-of-the-box features: Angular provides out-of-the-box templates, XSS protection, and unit testing utilities that are out-of-the-box.
Easy creation of modern UIs: Angular makes it easy to create Material Design-compliant UIs by providing out-of-the-box components for navigation elements, layouts, form controls, etc.
Better code quality: Angular uses Typescript, and as we mentioned earlier, this helps avoid common errors.
Robust error handling: Recent versions of Angular offer robust error handling features
Better performance: Angular manages dependencies to focus on external resources, which leads to solid performance.
Ease of use: Angular’s “Command Line Interface” (CLI) is easy to install, and commands are also more straightforward.
When choosing between Angular vs. React JS, you need to consider the following factors:
Popularity: both React and Angular are likely to remain popular in the long run, so they are equally attractive in this aspect.
Code quality: Typescript in Angular helps eliminate common programming errors, so Angular scores better in this aspect.
Learning curve: Angular is a complete framework, while React is a library, so Angular has a steeper learning curve compared to React. The use of Typescript, templates, etc., makes this learning curve additional proclaimed. If you need to withdraw from a steep learning curve, consider React.
Productivity: Since Angular is a complete framework, it offers higher productivity, further increasing by its CLI. On the other hand, with React, you often have to use other third-party libraries, so Angular scores excellent.
Flexibility: You have more freedom to choose tools and libraries when you work with React, whereas Angular limits your choice because it is a framework. If flexibility is an important decision factor for you, then React is the better choice.
Faster response: React uses virtual DOM, while Angular uses real DOM. Virtual DOM is faster, so apps written in React are faster.
Project size: Larger app development projects are more accessible with React JS, as it has a one-way data-binding, providing better data visibility. In comparison, Angular uses a two-way data binding, which means that changes to the model state are automated when UI elements are changed, and this also works in reverse. For smaller app development projects, Angular’s approach is more effective.
Performance and UX: Both Angular and React robust performance and user experience, so they are equally good in this aspect.
The simplicity of mobile development: Angular has the Ionic framework that allows you to create hybrid mobile apps. On the opposite side, mobile app development with React Native offers a native UI experience. React is the better choice for mobile development.
Easy testing: You can test an Angular project with just one tool like Jasmine. However, to try a React project, you need to use multiple devices, such as Jest, to test the JavaScript code and Enzyme for component testing, increasing the testing effort with React, so Angular has an advantage this point.
Easy upgrade: Angular’s CLI makes it easy to upgrade an app to the latest Angular version, but it’s different from React. Upgrading a React app requires more effort because 3rd party libraries used in frontend development.
Documentation: React’s documentation is more up-to-date, whereas Angular’s documentation is still under development.
Community support: Both React and Angular enjoy robust community support, so both score equally well in this aspect.
Finding developers for Angular vs. finding developers for React
Both React JS and Angular have high popularity, so finding developers for either skill could be difficult. HackerRank’s 2018 Developer Skills Report shows high React JS and Angular demand while noting that the demand-supply gap is very pronounced in React JS
While this shows that it might be challenging to find React JS developers, it is also easy to find Angular developers. Market observers report that both the demand and salary for Angular developers are growing steadily.
React vs. Angular: Choosing one of two robust options
JavaScript frameworks and libraries are popular for web app development, and both React and Angular are very popular. We’ve explained their differences and benefits, plus outlined the factors you should consider when choosing the proper JavaScript framework/library.
You will need to weigh up between React and Angular based on your specific project requirements. For example, you will benefit more from using React if you are running a large project, as its one-page data binding provides a better overview of the data. On the other hand, you will find Angular to be the better approach for a smaller project due to its two-way data binding. If still confused you can contact software development companies in India. If you are not you can get to top react development companies or angular development companies in India.
