What’s not to like?
Angular is a highly-scalable, easily-maintainable, and versatile solution built to support the digital enterprise’s growing needs. If that doesn’t speak to my opinions of the famed front-end framework, then I don’t know what does!
The fact is many of the world’s top companies look toward the power of this development framework – thanks to a powerful online community and a reputation for reliability. There are, of course, an abundance of pros and cons to using Angular and no decisive consequences from having not used the framework.
In short, the framework is only as good as the development team implementing it! But in this article, I’ll go through the applications of Angular and how your digital product can maximise its use.
I won’t waste another moment – let’s go!
Who’s Using Angular?
In short – the big players. Many of the most dynamic and modern web apps available online today are the most prolific Angular users. But this does not mean the technology has the capacity to handle all types of site. Bigger, multi-page sites, such as e-Commerce platforms, would be ill-suited, as this framework is optimised for lighter, faster applications.
More popular are the ‘single page apps’, from which all apps originate, no matter how many modules they consist of. Here, the pages take advantage of features designed to keep the site at top speed. These include two-way binding, modularisation, restful API handling, dependency injection, AJAX handling, and more. Here, HTML syntax can also be used to transfer application components.
What’s most notable about this is its popularity within the corridors of power at Google. With it being a Google-developed product – this explains its use in Google Maps, Gmail, among other household favourites. With stability cited as a popular benefit, Angular also offers developers valuable nuggets of information from certified developers operating on this framework.
As a regular feature in Stack Overflow surveys, it is without a doubt a popular choice as a broadly used web framework. As such, its 2020 position continues to rank a high 3rd place!
Benefits of Using Angular
Fans of the Angular framework can expect the kinds of advantages one could expect from a Google product. Modernity would undoubtedly be one area to start – with its structure making it an easy transition from any OOP language available.
Thanks to its closeness with Sergei and Larry, users can take full advantage of Google long-term support (LTS) without unwanted surprises. According to Igor Mina and Steven Fluin, the main driving forces behind Angular’s development – the relationship with Google will continue to endure, meaning engineers can expect Google to contribute and develop the framework in the long term.
Developers and proprietors alike can also sleep soundly, thanks to a greater emphasis on safety due to Angular’s use of the TypeScript language. This means it is easier to detect and destroy errors early throughout code writing or maintenance stages and debug Typescript code directly in the browser or editor. Navigate with ease as well, in part due to better refactoring and autocompletion functions.
Declarative UI uses HTML, as opposed to JavaScript, to define the interface of the application. With this, it’s possible to save time from setting up and prioritising programme flows. All that you will need to do is simply define your exact requirements.
Test with ease as well, with easily manipulable segments and perform automatic testing using module separation. The ‘one file-one module’ principle will also eliminate the need for determining unit loading orders.
One of the final benefits worth mentioning are the Model View Controller (MVC) and Model View ViewModel (MVVM) software embedded within the Angular framework. Here, you won’t face the requirement of splitting the application into components, nor will you need to build a unitary code. In fact, the system requires far less coding, complete with ultra-fast app loading times. On that matter, Amazon says that each 100-millisecond boost, results in a 1% increase in revenues.
Which Apps Are Successful in Using Angular?
The largest beneficiaries include Google applications from small-screen products to major digital institutions, such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Cloud, or Android-based applications.
Microsoft products form a significant cohort for Angular, too, as its MS Office programmes take advantage, alongside its XBOX gaming system, as well as Udemy, Adobe and Amazon.
Many other household names in media and entertaining make use of this framework, such as HBO, Sony, and Forbes. Financial and payment applications follow suit, with PayPal and Santander bank being noteworthy users as well.
The code architecture of Angular is such that it enables component reusability and even scalability of a solution. This means that a growing product could take advantage of this framework in many of the same ways that major digital players do. Thanks to a mobile-first approach, the codebase can be made available for web, iOS, and Android applications.
What Happens If You Use React?
React is best suited for building UI’s and realising complex applications, as stated in our previous articles. I personally have no objections to applying it, but so long as you know what you’re doing! The freedoms of React give a sandbox of possibilities, making it a potentially overwhelming framework for the unprepared developer. This could cause organisational delays and possible financial consequences as a result.
While Angular provides a more detailed ‘rulebook’ on building applications, it helps realise projects in record time. When setting out to build your prototype or minimum viable product (MVP) and look to shorten time-to-market, this framework will serve you well.
Developers will face less freedom, but at the price of a ready product, in minimal time. In essence, the consequences are minimal in the scheme of things. What’s most important is the knowledge possessed by your team, so be sure to have the best possible support. With experience, anything is possible, and the benefits will always outweigh the theoretical costs!
Good luck, and get building.
