Advantages of using AngularJS to Develop Applications

Posted by Myles Golden on Aug 10, 2016

Angular is one of our primary JavaScript frameworks for these simple reasons:

AngularJS is a JavaScript framework used for creating large, dynamic web applications. The framework has been around since 2009, and widely adopted by developers and the community. Originally developed by Google under the leadership of Misko Hevery, the resulting work has been used by the development community and industry leaders.

As a part of the single-page application (SPA) framework model, the AngularJS framework reduces development times, increases testing efficiency, and reduces loading times on client servers.

Although not all large companies are open about the technology stacks they are using, some great examples of websites that currently use AngularJS framework are:

• Google
• The Weather Channel
• YouTube
• Freelancer
• NBC
• Walgreens
• ABC

Why We Love AngularJS so much

Although there are several other JavaScript frameworks that can do the same thing, here's just a few reasons why we love AngularJS:

• Angular simplifies the development process by presenting an application's architecture in a clear way.
• Anything you can do with Angular, you can do with good ol' JavaScript, but Angular automates a lot of the processes.
• It allows a developer to create reusable components within an application.
• Angular comes with a large library, allowing developers to quickly inject modular code and start creating features in a matter of hours — no longer days.
• Saves time "in the long run" by providing clean, modular and a reusable architecture.

The AngularJS framework is more reliable

Most of the time, well-structured codebases are built upon a MVC (Model-View-Controller) model, which is the basic web architectural pattern as "building blocks". Angular allows developers to use the MVC format and break components down so that Angular can handle the rest. Think of Angular as the wiring of a house, it manages the components and also serves as the pipeline that connects everything.

Another advantage of using Angular for developing web applications is the simple fact that Angular allows for unit frontend unit testing. Setting up tests and making sure the codebase passes the tests protects the vulnerability of launching an application, ensuring it works before the public ever sees anything. In the past, frameworks were not built with testing in mind which meant testing a website or application was a tedious and long process. You would typically just try to break things clicking on every component. On the other hand, Angularjs, was built to automate this archaic process.

With the opinionated structure of the Angularjs code, the code-base can be tested more efficiently. The core philosophy behind Angularjs ensures that JavaScript applications are completely separate from the DOM — the HTML and the CSS. Being able to separate the DOM from the JavaScript allows a more thorough automated testing experience, where a page’s logic can be more easily tested, and tested solely in isolation.

We test our Angular apps with Protractor and CircleCi for continuous integration, an end-to-end test that runs an application using a real browser and interact with it as a real user would. It allows you to drive the browser and test the expected state of your application’s pages. This sort of functional testing is an essential component of any overall testing strategy.

Why you Should Use AngularJs as a Framework

There is no such thing as the best framework. However, when we look at the benefits that Angular provides, we cannot help but use it. We've even built our Open Source Platforms Humpback and Treefrog on it. Here are the other strong reasons why we choose Angular:

• It’s made and updated by Google.
• It has an extensive base of developers who use it.

And as discussed in this article, Angular provides a quicker way of creating a reliable code base that can be tested thoroughly. So, why not use Angular? One last thing to keep in mind is that Angular is only as good as the developers that build with it, so talk with Cali Style about your next project and how Angular can be used in it.