ReactJS Vs AngularJS: Which One to Choose for Developing Your Application

When it comes to developing web applications, several JavaScript (JS) frameworks and technologies have become popular in recent years. Two such popular JS technologies are AngularJS and ReactJS, which have made it easier for developers to reuse code and develop applications faster. While both are commonly used for front-end development, they have their own differences. One cannot be, however, considered better than the other as both have their own features, advantages, disadvantages, and suitability. This can be a little confusing for developers new to developing web applications using javascript technologies. This article compares these two popular technologies and identifies the situations and requirements where they can be implemented.

AngularJS

AngularJS is a mature javascript framework developed and maintained by the developers at Google. The framework follows the MVC architecture. AngularJS offers several out-of-the-box designs and solutions for modern web applications. These designs and solutions are more than what ReactJS offers. The framework is more commonly used for developing single-page applications (SPAs).

Some AngularJS establishments include Google (Google Express, Analytics, Firebase Console, etc.), Forbes, NBA, Wix.com, and Onefootball.

Features and Advantages of AngularJS

• AngularJS is a full-fledged framework that can run on any browser or platform.
• The framework helps extend the HTML vocabulary to suit the dynamic nature of your applications using Angular elements.
• AngularJS has rich features and offers a fully extensible tool set. This makes it possible for developers to rapidly build and deploy visually attractive, single-page, and real-time applications. 
• One of the top features of the framework is that it offers two-way data binding. This distributes the impact every time there is a change in data. It also means there is no need to write extra code for data synchronization in view or model components, as AngularJS will automatically perform this.
• Due to the framework’s architecture, the components are deep-bound. These components consist of elements with only relevant functionality. They are also loosely coupled and adequately encapsulated. Hence, the components are easily reusable.  
• AngularJS is testing ready for both Unit testing and Integration testing. The designers developed a “Karma” testing framework for this purpose.
• The framework has rich community support across the globe. Developers and designers constantly collaborate to keep improving the framework.  
• TypeScript is a new language written on top of JS. It is also an enhanced javascript superset that provides a very powerful typing system and enables you to analyze your code statically. It also offers object-based programming patterns. Angular is the first significant framework to adopt Typescript actively.
  

Disadvantages of AngularJS

• One primary limitation of AngularJS is its complexity and steep learning curve despite a comprehensive manual and documentation. 
• Until recently, programmers using this framework had to emphasize security to make the applications safe and reliable, similar to other client-rendering technologies in the list of JS frameworks. This limitation has now been defused by the introduction of Angular Universal and the pre-rendering option in ng2.  

ReactJS

React JS is more of an open-source JS-based library than a framework developed by the Facebook community. It takes a minimalist approach to building web applications. Yet, it offers excellent functionality and scalability, providing a responsive, intuitive & attractive UI. The framework also has the ability to handle large and highly dynamic data. Some companies that use ReactJS include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Netflix, and AirBnB.

Features and advantages of ReactJS

• ReactJS is more straightforward, more focused, and consistent compared to AngularJS. This is because ReactJS is more JS-centric and ng2 is HTML-centric, and javascript is more robust than HTML.
• One of the best features of ReactJS is its prompt rendering, which is an advantage over AngularJS. This is because of the well-defined functional components that explicitly map the input props and the delivered output.
• Functional components also allow the code to be reused and tested quickly.
• The framework comprises a virtual DOM (Document Object Model), which reduces the amount of operations done on the primary DOM. The framework also uses innovative methods to optimize and speeds up the DOM update process.  
• ReactJS uses JSX, an XML-like markup language that enables the usage of HTML tags for subcomponent rendering. Static analysis is the major advantage provided by JSX. If you make a mistake in your JSX markup, the compiler will throw an error, which helps you catch typos and errors immediately. 
• ReactJS has one-way data binding, which makes it more performant than Angular. One-way data binding also makes it easier to debug a ReactJS application than an AngularJS application.

Disadvantages of ReactJS

• Compared to AngularJS, ReactJS is not a framework but a front-end library. Integrating this library into the MVC architecture needs a deep understanding of programming.
• Though ReactJS is older than Angular, it is not a completely mature framework considering the aspects such as its limited ecosystem and tutorial volumes.
• Another major drawback of ReactJS is that the environment constantly changes quickly, and many developers find it challenging to keep up with the pace of these changes.
• While JSX has its benefits, many developers in the community believe it to be a disadvantage. There are a lot of complaints about its complexity and steep learning curve.
• Functional components, too, have their own limitations. For example, unlike class components, they cannot have a state. This means developers must keep switching between these two paradigms to exploit them fully.

CONCLUSION

Choosing the right technology for your project is critical as it may influence the time, budget, and effort you spend and the project’s outcome. Having said that, one cannot compare ReactJS and AngularJS in terms of being better than the other, as both have their own features, capabilities, and limitations. Both are also excellent javascript technologies that help in developing amazing application front-ends. Furthermore, according to Google Trends, both technologies show much popularity and interest from the developer community. Hence, the best approach to choosing the right technology is to identify the type of project you have and the technology’s suitability for that project.