React vs Angular: Which is better for building scalable web and desktop applications?

The universal question newbie developers ask is that, why use Angular framework over React and which is the better hybrid HTML/JavaScript framework that could simplify building web applications. Well, unfortunately that is not an easy answer because these frameworks share similar concepts that makes building robust scalable applications possible. Today, we are going to break down the pros and cons of Angular over React for you to decide for yourselves.

Both above-mentioned JavaScript frameworks are based upon componentize development and are fully capable of making scalable large-scale applications easier, but they do so in their own different ways. As a result, some developers really like Angular and some prefer React, but again both are great solutions to develop large web or mobile applications. On the contrary, we’d encourage your team to test drive both tools and figure out the best solution for yourself. With that said, let’s get into some differences between angular and react.

Angular

Angular is a JavaScript framework for building applications across the web, desktop and even native mobile apps. One of the main differences between angular and react is that Angular is indeed a full-fledged toolkit to create your applications. Out of the box, angular has solutions for routing, accessing data services, templating and more. With Angular the users have everything right there for them to use, providing them with a lot of consistency. Angular allows the user to decide on how to structure their project for the code to be easily found and maintained. The framework is been around for a long time now and has a large community of open-source developers.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency.

React

React.js often referred to as React or ReactJS is a JavaScript library responsible for building several UI components or, in other words, responsible for the variants of UI components. It provides support for both frontend and server-side. React is developed by Facebook. It is most commonly used for handling the view layer for web and mobile apps. ReactJS/React allows users to create reusable UI components. It is currently one of the most popular JavaScript libraries and has a strong foundation and large community behind it.

Crucial benefactors while choosing either of the JavaScript framework

1. Maturity

Angular was released in 2009, whereas React was introduced in 2013. As a result, Angular is more mature than React. Angular has been evolving on a consistent rate to compete with other modern JavaScript frameworks. Many developers consider Angular to be more robust and offer additional features in comparison to React.

2. Design Goal

Angular was originally designed to simplify and ease the development of single-page websites. Hence, it has features to load dynamic content without requiring users to switch to another web page. On the other hand, react was designed with the intention to simplify development of user interface (UI) for single-page web applications.

3. Learning curve

Angular, although after you learn angular you should know everything else associated to it (typescript, MVC…), angular itself is a huge library that requires more time to learn. Whereas, React uses the least and is easier to practice.

4. Scalability

Angular is easy to scale, thanks to its design as well as a powerful CLI (Command Line Interface). With a virtual DOM & React library, React can further look at scalable development. React is a terrific view framework to build re-usable and scalable components.

5. Simplicity + Code Length

React is simple to understand but in fact it takes a long time to set up a react project. On the other hand, Angular is not simple at all. Angular’s complexity often causes a lot of confusion with in its community.

6. Performance

Virtual DOM model is very helpful in terms of performance. React promotes a Virtual DOM. Due to a well-built structure, React delivers great performance and memory allocation. Angular is already ahead in the competition. The performance depends on various factors. These two frameworks are comparatively faster than other JavaScript frameworks. One should not take performance into account to draw the conclusion because it mainly relies on the size of the application and optimization of code.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency.

Conclusion

Consider the below given statements before you pick one JavaScript Framework over the other:

• If you like flexibility more than other features, use React.
• If you love coding in TypeScript, go for Angular.
• If you are a JavaScript lover, use React because it is all about JavaScript.
• If you are a fond of object-oriented programming, deviating towards Angular is a better choice.

For development of cross-platform enterprise solutions, React Native is an ideal choice as it promotes modern functions and you can easily find resources. Angular, on the other side, needs a sound knowledge of JavaScript to build large-scale applications.

If you can’t decide what to choose and how to proceed further with web development for your business, you can hire skillful developers who not only build your application but help you right from the requirement identification, plan, development, and deployment.

We welcome you to contact us and know more about how we can add value to your business.