AngularJS Explained: A JavaScript Framework for Web Developers
AngularJS, a groundbreaking JavaScript-based front-end framework, first emerged in 2010, revolutionising the way developers approached single-page application (SPA) development. Created by a team at Google, including Misko Hevery, AngularJS aimed to simplify the client-side development process and create more responsive user interfaces.
At its core, AngularJS followed the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, separating data, presentation, and business logic to make applications more manageable. It introduced powerful features such as two-way data binding, dependency injection, and template-driven development, quickly gaining popularity among developers.
However, as JavaScript and web development evolved, AngularJS faced limitations due to its architecture and reliance on older JavaScript standards. In response, Google completely rewrote AngularJS, resulting in Angular (often called Angular 2+), released in 2016. Unlike its predecessor, Angular is built with TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript that adds static typing and modern programming features. This rewrite aimed to improve performance, scalability, and tooling for large-scale applications, leveraging advancements in JavaScript (ES6 and beyond) and development best practices.
In December 2021, Google discontinued long-term support for AngularJS due to its inability to keep pace with modern web development demands and the benefits provided by Angular, such as better modularity, faster rendering, and enhanced developer ergonomics. Developers maintaining existing AngularJS projects are strongly encouraged to upgrade to Angular to benefit from ongoing support, improved performance, and access to a rich ecosystem of tooling and libraries.
One of the standout features of AngularJS was its unit testing capabilities, which could be carried out using the Karma framework, developed specifically for AngularJS by Google. AngularJS also made it easy to perform unit and integration tests, thanks to its Karma unit testing feature. Another advantage of AngularJS was its ability to manage routing, moving between views in single-page apps with different pages.
AngularJS also gave HTML components superpowers through the use of directives, providing useful behaviour without requiring additional code. It allowed for easy data model binding to HTML components and required less code for document object model (DOM) manipulation compared to traditional methods. Additionally, AngularJS incorporated the MVC architecture, enforcing clear distinctions for different parts of the app.
Though AngularJS is no longer being updated, it remains an available option for developers. This transition reflects the broader evolution of front-end development to embrace modern languages, tooling, and component-driven architectures. As of January 1, 2022, Google no longer updates AngularJS and recommends upgrading to Angular (v2+) for ongoing support and improved performance.
Technology, especially front-end development, has evolved significantly over the years. AngularJS, initially released in 2010, was a significant leap inJavaScript-based frameworks, revolutionizing single-page application (SPA) development. However, with advancements in JavaScript and the need for better performance, scalability, and modern programming features, AngularJS faced limitations, leading to the creation of Angular (Angular 2+) in 2016. Built with TypeScript, this rewrite aimed to leverage advancements in JavaScript and development best practices for large-scale applications.
