AngularJS vs. Angular: Understanding the Evolution and Key Differences
Web development is evolving rapidly, and it’s essential for developers to understand the key differences between AngularJS and Angular. AngularJS, launched in 2010, was well-regarded for its data synchronization and clean structure. However, as the demand for faster and more efficient frameworks grew, Google introduced Angular (also known as Angular 2+) in 2016. Unlike its predecessor, Angular was rebuilt from scratch to overcome the limitations of AngularJS, making it ideal for modern, high-performance web applications that require a modular approach.
Today, Angular is one of the most popular frameworks, with 20.39% of developers using it to build dynamic web applications. Its enhanced features like a component-based structure, seamless TypeScript integration, and faster rendering make it a top choice for large-scale projects. In this article, we’ll explore how Angular evolved from AngularJS and the key improvements that benefit developers today.
The Origin Story: AngularJS vs Angular
AngularJS was released in 2010 changed the standards that most developers used to create dynamic web applications. Developed on the JavaScript, AngularJS added such features as two way data binding, dependency injection, and modules and components which make web application more efficient and easy to control.
Angular was launched in 2016 by Google, it is also known as Angular 2+. This was a rewrite from scratch and a big step up, based on TypeScript. Angular was intended to fix AngularJS’s performance and scalability problems whilst providing a more rigid framework for modern applications.
Main Differences between AngularJS and Angular
It is very important to differentiate between the two frameworks in order to determine which one is best for project.
1. Architecture:
AngularJS: Based on Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern that divides the application’s logic, the presentation layer and the input from the user.
Angular: Uses an MVC architecture divides the app into components, it makes an application more manageable and expandable.
2. Language and Syntax: JavaScript vs TypeScript
AngularJS: Based on JavaScript which is rather simple for the creation of the first scripts, but often results in the creation of the so-called spaghetti code in large applications.
Angular: The backend is built in TypeScript, which provides static typing and such features as decorators and interfaces to provide more comprehensible and less bug-prone code.
3. Performance: Speed and Efficiency Improvements
AngularJS: Has a problem of slow performance resulting from its two-way databinding and digest cycle.
Angular: Provides superior performance by allowing one way data binding and AOT which has improved the rendering time and loading time.
Reasons Which Explains Developers Shift from AngularJS to Angular
It was not just a change from AngularJS to Angular, but necessary to update ourselves with the latest advancements of web technologies. Angular fixed many drawbacks such as scalability problems, complicated testing, and slow application execution, which is way better suited for the enterprise applications.
Backward Compatibility Challenges
There is a major drawback for this kind of change: lack of compatibility with previous versions of the operating system. In particular, applications created with AngularJS need to be rewritten entirely to work on Angular, which is time-consuming.
Enhanced Features in Angular
Reactive Forms: Another approach that doesn’t bring in form stability and flexibility.
Improved Testing: The simple idea that modular components make unit testing relatively easy.
CLI Tools: Angular CLI makes development easy through commands like, creating component, service and module.
AngularJS vs Angular – When to Use Which?
Choosing between AngularJS and Angular depends on your project’s requirements:
AngularJS is still applicable for applications that are not very extensive, or if it is used in projects that are not yet ready for a complete migration.
Angular great for the application that has to be modern, performant, and scalable, with some level of complexity involved.
The Future of AngularJS and Angular
Google has finally pulled the plug on the long term support of AngularJS and is recommending developers to use Angular instead. Since Angular is getting constant updates and new features it is evident that Angular is here to stay and become the preferred choice for developing modern applications.
Conclusion:
There is a big different between AngularJS and Angular and it is important to know about this difference in order to make a right decision. While AngularJS has served as the platform to dynamic Web applications, Angular is the one that has more advanced functionalities and is faster.
If you're looking to build a cutting-edge application or migrate from AngularJS, consider hiring experienced developers. Hire AngularJS developers to ensure a seamless migration or to maintain your legacy projects while transitioning to Angular for scalability and performance enhancements.