I see a lot of people discussing which technology is better than another. It’s no different when we talk about Angular and ReactJS. In this article, the intention is not to tell you what the best technology is but to make you draw your own conclusions. I will put all the necessary sources for greater credibility.
Framework vs. Library
In order to understand the real difference between the Angular 6 training and the ReactJS, we must first understand what a Framework is and what a Library is. Framework is a set of tools that makes development easier, without terms that re-invent the wheel. It aims to dictate how your application will be developed.
A library is a set of classes and definitions that solve a particular problem. It has a specific focus and a set of them make up a framework, based on what I wrote above.
Having these two definitions in mind, we can separate the Angular and ReactJS as a framework and a javascript library respectively.
ReactJS
What it is: As it says in the own site – JavaScript library for building user interfaces – is a library of JavaScript, created to develop user interfaces.
Advantage: The main difference and advantage of RectJS in relation to the Angular is called Virtual DOM or VDOM, which is a programming concept where there is a representation of the memory-cached UI, synchronized with the real DOM of the browser, using ReactDOM. That way, DOM changes are much faster, since we have all the cache and ReactJS turns to sync and update our real DOM, changing only what is needed.
Angular
What it is: Angular, unlike ReactJS, is a framework that makes developing a web application easier. Because it is a framework and not a lib, by default it already provides us with declarative templates, dependency injection, integrates good practices; and so it dictates how we should develop our applications with a pre-established architecture and thus lessen the chances of making silly mistakes.
In this model, the Component and Template layer have the responsibility of defining our view. A decorator in our Component defines our metadata, where we associate which Template is part of the Component and other settings. Also we have the directives, in the Directive layer that has the function to modify our view, based on the data and logic that we will use.
Advantage: The advantage over ReactJS is that, because it is a framework, Angular provides native features, where we do not have to worry about routes, dependency injection, http requests, a very rich command line where we quickly create a Angular fully structured and ready to start our development, support PWA’s, Karma tests integrated in the framework and configured, animations, and from version 6, also has the Angular Material already integrated. To master the version you need to take Angular 6 course.That way, when we develop a more robust application, if we use the good practices of the framework, we will have a scalable, clean and well developed application.
If you need a lot of performance, it is best to use ReacJS. Not that the Angular is a bad idea when we talk about performance, but by ReactJS in fact deliver a more good result. But be careful with the code and a lot of attention, because you are the one who will dictate the rules themselves.
But if you are going to develop a very robust application, with a lot of logic in the front end and more pro side, the ideal is to use the Angular. It will dictate how the application will be developed and we can use all the features and good practices that it provides us, so we can have a more organized and susceptible code to the least failure.