Angular vs Angularjs
AngularJS (or Angular 1.x) and Angular (versions 2 and above) are both Google-developed front-end frameworks, but Angular is a complete rewrite of AngularJS. The key differences lie in their fundamental architecture, the language they use, and their performance capabilities.
| Feature | AngularJS | Angular |
|---|---|---|
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript (a superset of JavaScript) |
| Architecture | MVC (Model-View-Controller) | Component-based architecture |
| Performance | Slower (due to the "digest cycle" for change detection) | Faster (uses a more efficient unidirectional data flow and Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation) |
| Data Binding | Two-way data binding by default | One-way data binding primarily, with explicit syntax for two-way binding |
| Mobile Support | Limited; not optimized for mobile devices | Built with mobile support, including the ability to build native mobile apps |
| Tooling | Relied on third-party tools (e.g., WebStorm) | Includes an official powerful CLI (Command Line Interface) for scaffolding, building, and testing |
| Support Status | End-of-Life (reached EOL in December 2021, though third-party support is available) | Actively maintained with regular updates and long-term support |
Summary of Differences
- Fundamentally Different: Angular is not an incremental upgrade to AngularJS; it is an entirely new framework built to address the limitations of its predecessor and align with modern web development practices.
- Modern Language: The shift from JavaScript to TypeScript in Angular offers benefits like static typing, which helps catch errors during development and improves code maintainability and scalability for large applications.
- Improved Performance: Angular's component-based architecture and efficient data flow provide significantly better performance than AngularJS's MVC architecture and digest cycle mechanism.
- Better Tooling: The Angular CLI streamlines the development process, making it easier to manage large projects, run tests, and deploy applications, a feature lacking in AngularJS.
For any new projects, it is highly recommended to use the latest version of Angular, while AngularJS is primarily relevant for maintaining legacy systems