In this guide, we will compare Angular (Angular 2) and React to help you decide which platform is better suited for your project. So which one is better? Angular vs React? Which one should you pick for your next project?
Let’s begin with taking a
quick overview of both the platforms and then we will compare some major
aspects which can impact your project. Let’s get started without further ado.
Angular
Angular is a JavaScript framework which is used for front-end development. Angular is the successor of AngularJS and is directly compatible with Google. The first version of Angular, AngularJS has a redundant complexity which is resolved in Angular. Angular also has some new features like server-side rendering and native app support.
Some benefits of Angular are written below:
- It is developed by Google, so it is very
reliable. - It is easy to adapt for new developers.
- The syntax and semantics are very easy to write
code in. - Highly customizable and interactive apps can be
developed with Angular. - Angular provides advanced testing mechanisms and
Model-View-Controller balance.
However, with all the
strength, Angular also has its weak points. Websites that are developed with
Angular are not SEO friendly which means a lower number of potential visits.
Large websites have a low latency compared to small websites which are made
with Angular.
Some examples of websites
that are powered with Angular are YouTube (for PS3), Freelancer, GoodFirms, and
Upwork.
React
React, also referred to as
ReactJS is a library based on JavaScript with a JSX compiler. ReactJS is
focused on reusing components in a user interface. React is strictly not an MVC
framework but an open source library used for rendering interfaces. React can
be used to create highly responsive and interactive user interfaces. React also
helps make the loading of websites smooth.
Some benefits of React are written below:
- React offers full compatibility with Facebook.
- Websites made with React are SEO friendly unlike
Angular and also perform well. - React has a flexible set of libraries to offer.
Just like Angular, React
also has its weak points. The view-oriented approach can be quite troublesome
with React as it requires significantly more lines of code and manual handling
of changes in data.
Some examples of web
services powered by React are Netflix, Airbnb, Feedly, and Walmart.
Angular vs React: What you need to consider?
There are many other
things you will need to consider before finalizing your choice between Angular
and React. We have laid down some of the most important aspects below. They
should bring you one more step closer to your decision. Here’s a step by step
comparison for Angular vs React.
License
There are different kinds
of License Frameworks and Libraries as categorized under. The most flexible
License, which allows you to alter the service according to your needs, is an
Open-Source License. Most of the other licenses will not allow you to modify
the framework or build your own commercial app.
Thankfully, both Angular
and ReactJS have an open source license and have no restrictions on how you use
them. Angular is licensed under the MIT license while React has a 3 clause BSD
license. This means that there is a restriction on using the right holders’
name for commercial or advertising purposes.
MVC pattern
For those who don’t know what
MVC is, the MVC Model stands for MODEL-VIEW-CONTROLLER. It helps to reduce the
code into different segments and components. This ensures a better
understanding of code for the developer and results in a better quality for the
overall product. Other similar models are MVP (Model-View-Presenter) and MVVM
(Model-View-View-Presenter).
Angular uses the MVC
architecture while React only has the V (View Oriented Architecture) from the
MVC model.
Templates
When you are working on a
JavaScript website, you won’t want to miss out on the benefit of using
templates for creating a user interface. Angular implements templates using
TypeScript files while React implements templates using JSX files.
Data Binding
Data binding is a very important aspect of web development as it binds the data between the front end and back end. Or to make it clear, Data Binding establishes the connection between the User Interface and Business Logic of an application. Here it is in the concept of Angular vs React.
Angular uses two-way data
binding which means that the framework can connect DOM to Model data by using
the Controller. This can affect the performance as all the changes in DOM are
required to be tracked by a watcher.
React uses a one-way data
binding technique so the data flow happens just one way. One-way data binding
makes it much more convenient to debug and find problems in a project in case
of an unexpected event, especially in largely sized apps or websites.
Rendering
Rendering or Processing
can be done in two ways, client-side rendering or server-side rendering. In
client-side rendering, the data and code are sent to the client’s machine and
rendered by using client machine resources. This approach is not secure and also
affects the performance in a negative way.
Server-side rendering is
the better approach; all the data processing is done on the server machine and
only the output result is sent to the client machine which also makes it more
secure to hacks and also improves performance as the server machine is capable
of processing data multiple times faster than the client’s machine.
Performance
There are many points that affect the performance positively and negatively in both Angular and React. For example, large apps take a performance hit in Angular due to two-way data binding which is not an issue in React. React developers have also developed a way to use virtual DOM that allows the creation of a light DOM tree that is saved on the server, which reduces the load on the browser significantly.
The performance will highly depend on the type of app you are developing. For large apps and websites, we will recommend you to use React. However, for small sized apps and services, you can use Angular and take advantage of things like MVC. It all comes down to what your requirements are. Both of the technologies have their benefits for different development strategies. There are admirers and haters for both of them. We suggest you take a deep observation of the project and thoroughly decide which platform you want to use. We hope we were able to help you decide between Angular vs React.
Post a Comment