Every time front-end programming is needed for a web application, the Angular and React debate arises. The answer is that it mostly depends on your application needs.

Businesses usually have questions like: React or Angular: which one is the best for their web application development? How to pick between both? Should the selection be based on the project or tool features?

Zessta’s experienced developers have used both frameworks, so we have decided to talk about both of them, which will answer most of your questions. 

Here is what we think about both frameworks.

Features: React.Js Vs Angular

Most developers dismiss the debate by saying: React is a library and Angular a framework. However, the developers using React view it as the library and simultaneously use other libraries in the React ecosystem, which turns it into a complete framework. For this reason, React is often clubbed with other javascript frameworks such as Angular. 

To understand in detail about both, we have to divulge deep into it.

Angular

Angular was released in the year 2016 by Google as Angular 2. Previously, it was known as Angular Js, which is now completely rewritten. It is a full-fledged JavaScript framework written in TypeScript(a superset of JavaScript). It was rewritten and designed to compete with React by embracing many components, retaining the dependency injection and including the two-way data binding features. 

Features of Angular:

• Dependency injection
• Two-way data binding
• TypeScript
• XSS protection
• HTML template 

React (also known as React.js)

Post its release in 2013, React became a widely used open-source JavaScript library. It got popular because of its components based architecture for web development. It gives the developers an option to choose how they want to manage a state with other libraries and frameworks. As React preferred state management with libraries, it encouraged working with immutable data and one-way data binding that helped achieve unidirectional data flow.

Features of React:

• Virtual DOM
• XSS protection
• JXS files
• Functional components

Comparison: Angular & React

Angular and React are there to make front-end development easy. The only thing is that they take on different approaches to achieve the same goal. Let’s have a deeper look into their differences!

Components

In Angular, the framework is based on three layers: Models, Views and Controllers. It has a complex and fixed structure. A developer can break down the code into separate files, making it easy to re-use the templates and codes in different projects.

In React, there isn’t any fixed format for writing codes, and the codes written in React are well structured and readable. The component tree usage makes it easy to structure the code logically.

Mobile app solutions

Angular offers an ionic framework for mobile app development that includes a library of UI components and a Cordova container. So, when an application is created in a native framework, the web application container will look like a web app on any device.

While it is not the same in the case of React.js, it gives a completely native user interface that will help developers create custom elements that they can link with native code written in Java or others. 

Data Binding

Data binding is an important aspect that will help choose between React and Angular. React uses a unidirectional data binding approach, which means the UI components can be changed only when the model state is changed. A developer can’t change the components without updating the corresponding model state. 

Angular has bidirectional binding; it ensures that the model’s state is changed automatically whenever the UI component is changed or vice-versa.  

You might think that the Angular approach is easy and better; however, React provides a clear data representation for larger applications. 

Development speed & productivity

Angular has CLI that offers a better development environment and allows you to build workspaces, design working applications easily, and create required elements using just a single command line. For complicated issues, it already has a built-in troubleshooting feature.

However, in the case of React, if any third-party libraries are included, then the speed of productivity and development might get hampered. This is what a React developer should assess before starting the project and use the right architecture and tools.

This is where Angular wins over React! The productivity and development speed is higher in the case of Angular.

Document Object Model (DOM)

DOM is a very important metric, as it helps evaluate a framework’s performance. DOM organizes HTML, XML documents in a tree-like structure.

Angular has real DOM; whenever there is an update or change, all the components need to be updated. This makes the process slow.

React has virtual DOM that allows the developers to track and update changes without changing the components in the entire tree.

Which one to choose?

Angular framework is better suited while developing a huge or large-scale application with various features. It is a reliable and scalable framework. Using Angular, the development of real-time applications becomes easy. 

React best suites if you are planning to have a cross-platform application. It helps to increase the existing app’s capabilities. React widened the possibilities for a developer, enabling the applications to have modern capabilities. It has numerous features, one of which is the tools available that can be used to personalize a webpage.

Both frameworks have their advantages and disadvantages. Whatever you think about this comparison, the decision should depend on your usability and functionality. Whichever framework you choose for your app, partnering with the right Product Development firm becomes very important. Zessta can be that firm for you; we have a team of Angular developers and React developers who are experienced in their respective fields. 

We have helped companies by developing engaging and user-friendly applications from scratch. Our expert developers have more than 10 years of experience and know what to do to achieve your goals. 

If you are looking for a firm that could help you build engaging web applications, all you have to do is mail or call us!

Talk to our experts today, and know-how we can help you!