I won't be covering technical differences between AngularJS and Angular in this article but rather the consequences of not knowing they're different. If still interested please read on.
What is AngularJS?
AngularJS is a javascript framework like React, Vue, and Angular. It is an open-source front-end framework supported by google and many open-source contributors. According to Wikipedia it was released on October 20, 2010. AngularJS is the oldest of the javascript frameworks that can be used to build Single Page Applications (SPAs), it was Angular version 1.
What is Angular?
After the release of Angular version one, the team of AngularJS released Angular version two which was a complete rewrite of version one. Angular is a typescript-based open-source front-end framework used to develop amazing SPAs. It was first released on 14 September 2016. (Source - Wikipedia) )
My frustrations
We all know how useful StackOverflow is, it's without a doubt super crucial for solving our doubts. However, I saw a tweet by StackOverflow
Which web framework gives you the chills? pic.twitter.com/PjezZZFEN0
— Stack Overflow (@StackOverflow) May 19, 2021
It says "Angular.js is the most dreaded framework(and it is)" but there's one point that no one clarifies, angular.js is not angular.
Now, you may think it's not that big of a deal but think from a beginner's perspective they don't know that Angular2 and above are completely different from AngularJS.
When I started learning Angular, these were the thoughts I had in my mind
- Isn't ReactJS the most popular framework/library?
- People say angular is too tough and it's not worth it, maybe I should drop it.
- People hate angular so much it must be terrible.
All of these thoughts just because some people on social media were hating Angular without even knowing(or at least without telling others) that AngularJS is not Angular.
How ReactJS developers behave
I can open literally any social media platform and I will find new ReactJS developers who think the tool is greater than skills and React is the god of everything. I have tried ReactJS and I find its JSX syntax a little weird. Apart from the syntax, I think ReactJS is a great JavaScript library for building amazing web applications. It's a great tool but it does not mean it's the best tool, because there is no best tool.
Now if someone is searching for a job in most places ReactJS has the most jobs so no one can compete with React there. However, knowing or trying other frameworks never hurts and jobs for other frameworks are definitely not zero.
Angular is the biggest victim of React's popularity, I have seen so many people writing negative comments about Angular without even trying it because they "like" ReactJS.Now, there's nothing wrong with liking a framework or library but the problem is we shouldn't try to scare away new developers from trying out other technologies.
Good things about Angular or Angular Version 2+
At the time of writing this article, Angular 12 is the latest version of Angular. It updates every six months but still, the core concepts haven't changed from version 2.
We work simply with HTML, CSS or SASS or SCSS or LESS, and TypeScript(all valid JavaScript is valid TypeScript).
Angular is known to be the toughest framework to learn but I respectfully disagree, it's an amazing framework. It literally took me just 4-5hrs to understand the basics of Angular(same as React in my case). Mastering angular may take months or more but it's the same story for any framework you pick. Starting is easy, mastering is not.
One of the best features in Angular is how we can directly write sass code instead of CSS and Angular handles everything from thereon.
Now I can't cover all good things here, angular docs is the best place to learn more about it.
Angular is an amazing framework, it really is. Just try it.
Just one tip, don't dive into JavaScript frameworks without having a solid JavaScript base.
If you're new to web development you can also check out my YouTube channel, I have a playlist on web development give it a shot.
Thank you for reading.