Angular vs React: Choosing the Best Framework for App Development

Angular and React frameworks are the most popular among front-end development frameworks. What are the differences between them and what to choose when developing a mobile application?

React Library

Facebook created an open-source, component-based, and accessible JavaScript library called React that improves front-end development in 2011. It is a library; however, it is referred to as a React framework due to the availability of additional packages.

Now React has become the most popular UI development tool. All components in React are easily put together to create an advanced front-end. Elements are rendered based on the data passed to them. The declarative view makes debugging React components much more accessible.

React helps developers to work faster as they can combine specific Java Script components instead of writing everything from the beginning. It has clear formatting and a variety of additional features. In addition, most developers are familiar with JavaScript.

The React libraries create progressive web apps (PWA), social media platforms, data dashboards, and cross-platform mobile apps.

We are confident that we have what it takes to help you get your platform from the idea throughout design and development phases, all the way to successful deployment in a production environment!

React Pros

React library has certain development advantages, and it is among market leaders.

It provides a good User Experience. The essential property in React is using Virtual Dom instead of real. It helps the website update specific affected components instead of reloading pages that provide super-fast performance on complex user interfaces. In other words, a highly dynamic UI with an exquisite user experience is built.
Time and effort saving. React provides developers with many isolated components they can reuse whenever needed. Changes do not affect others, so managing updates are performed efficiently and fast. The result is the time-saving and efficient work of developers.
Quick Development. As was mentioned above, React components can be reused and applied to various components during mobile app development. What improves the development process and application performance.
Fast Testing. React uses Redux to simplify storing and managing components in big and complicated apps with big dynamic elements. This helps developers add the application state to a single object and gives each application component access to the application state without engaging child components or using a callback. This simplifies the application testing process, changes data logs, uses hot reloads and similar tools.
Unidirectional Data Binding Code Stability. With the React library, developers deal with the components directly and use downward data binding to ensure that changes in child components do not affect parent entities. Such a development process provides code stability and supports development ideas in the future.

These are the most important advantages of using React. Facebook, Uber, Instagram, Dropbox, Netflix, WhatsApp, Airbnb use React.

Angular Development Framework

Angular is a JavaScript front-end development framework on Typescript language developed by Google in 2010. Later the first addition of Angular was rewritten to Angular2 to improve the previous version.

It was developed to simplify building dynamic content web applications within an HTML template.

All components consist of templates and classes. Business logic is included in the template and the class determined object layer.

In 2020 Angular developers improved a dependency injection system that allowed components to work with dependencies without hardcoding them, provided input and output properties values, and simplified communication between components. Now the framework works up to 10 times faster.

The Angular framework provides a rich design ecosystem and tools for building large-scale e-commerce, booking platforms, and PWAs web applications. It is a trendy UI development tool with an extensive community and support.

Angular Pros

As Angular framework shares leading positions in user interface development tools, it is worth analyzing its strong sides.

Clean Code. The Angular framework is written on a TypeScript basis which includes JavaScript. It helps to find and eliminate issues during typing the code. Developers can write fast and clean, eliminating error numbers, ensuring high-quality coding.
Higher Performance. Angular has a hierarchical dependency structure in which classes are independent and do not influence each other. They use external sources to deliver high performance.
Interface in the style of Material-Design. Angular provides pre-built material design components for navigation elements, form controls, pop-ups, layouts, and data tables. Mobile app developers can overcome theGoogle Material Design influence on mobile app and digital product design services that users will need in the future.
Improved Error Handling. The Angular last version provides an upgraded error handling @Output process in not initialized property scenarios.
Angular CLI Seamless Updates. Angular CLI (Command Line Interface) is easily installed. Beginners can understand the framework. It provides innovative testing tools and simple commands. Many engineers support the framework and update components, even those depending on a third party.

The Angular framework is good for experienced developers. Companies using Angular are Google, Upwork, PAy Pall, HBO, Sony, Forbes, Nike.

Angular vs React: Choosing the Best Framework for App Development

Angular vs React: Main Differences

Both frameworks operate under component-based architecture and have many in common. Still, they have many differences. To give a clearer idea of the main differences, check the list below.

React is a minimalistic UI development tool. It does not send push notifications or get data. The main difference is in the initial package. The library was extended with essential framework components for faster app prototyping by successful React adoption.

Angular is filled with all the necessary components for any competitive web application development.

Angular offers a clear application structure. It provides various built-in libraries for complex applications building. Angular does not need additional libraries as it already has data binding, project generation, component-based routing, dependency injection, and form validation.

React is a building user interfaces framework. It gives more freedom to organize code. It focuses on the MVC architecture and needs Flux to implement it. Applications written with React require the additional libraries implementation.

Language

Angular uses TypeScript. It helps to track typos and simplifies code navigation. Angular works with HTML, so developers must learn the new “Ng” framework directives and TypeScript syntax.

React is written in JavaScript, consisting of a syntax extension that makes JavaScript code identical to HTML. React can be extended with a code translation tool. React can be written in TypeScript, but it’s not initially included.

User Interface Components

The Angular framework provides seamless and quick UI configuration with the help of a wide variety of design components such as layouts, layouts, buttons, pop-ups, etc.

React requires installing the Material-UI library and dependencies to use the available material design components. The community develops UI components and offers many free and paid options.

Mobile Solutions

Angular offers an Ionic framework for mobile app development with a Cordova container and an attractive UI component library. The developed application looks like a network inside its web application container when viewed on any device.

React offers a native user interface to create your components and bind them to native code written in Java, Kotlin, Objective-C, and Kotlin.

Framework performance

React is a Virtual DOM-based framework, lightweight and running on the server. It doesn’t load the browser. In React, the data binding process is unidirectional, meaning no bindings are assigned to watchers, and the workload is reduced.

The Angular framework functions differently. It has a bi-directional data binding process. Each binding requires an observer to track changes, each loop remains until all observers and corresponding values have been validated. The bidirectional data binding process can reduce Angular efficiency. However, bringing Ivy technology to Angular improves processes.

Tools

React depends more on the state management libraries such as Helmet, Redux, and React Router streamline state management, API interaction, and routing.

Angular does not need additional libraries and integrates several features into its packages, such as data binding, project creation, and component-based routing. However, it can use the state management libraries (NgRx and RxJS) to improve its capabilities.

Flexibility and freedom

The React framework gives you the freedom to choose the tools, libraries, and architecture to develop the application. This allows creating a custom application using only the features and technology stack you need.

Angular offers limited freedom and flexibility. For example, the latest version only allows you to use Angular components inside other frameworks and embed codes in HTML-based applications.

Community support

React has more comprehensive community support than Angular on GitHub and GitLab. But the number of developers working with Angular is slightly higher than with React.

Which is better, React or Angular?

Significant changes have been made to React to allow React developers to easily provide feedback on new features, JavaScript syntax improvements, and experimental APIs.

While Angular has already passed the growth stage, which will probably grow even more with the release of the new version, both of these frameworks are evolving.

Summary

The choice between Angular vs React depends on the programming level. React gives the flexibility to work with JavaScript from scratch, allowing work with UI components. More experienced developers prefer Angular’s wide range of features. As hundreds of projects on GitHub show, it is possible to create a scalable interface using both frameworks.