New programmers generally get confused in identifying the actual differences between Angular and AngularJS. Angular has dominated the world of open-source JavaScript frameworks, garnering unconditional support and widespread adoption among both enterprises and individuals for Angular development services As a result, Angular has evolved phenomenally from AngularJS version 1.0 to Angular version 2.0 and now the latest Angular version 4.0 — all in just five years. However, AngularJS is JavaScript-based, and Angular is a type of Script-based framework.

Nevertheless, there are quite similarities between the two platforms as both platforms are front-end, open-source platforms that create dynamic SPAs. But AngularJS is well suited to small and bigger applications, so it is worth learning and using.

Components of Angular vs AngularJS

One of the core differences between the two frameworks is that Angular uses a superset of ES6, which has backward compatibility with ES5 as well and comes with several benefits like lambda operators, iterators, or reflection mechanisms. Whereas AngularJS uses terms of scope and controllers. Besides that, Angular is component-based and AngularJS is based on directives.

Architecture of frameworks

The architecture of both frameworks is quite typical. AngularJS uses Model-View-Controller design whereas Angular operates on directives with templates. The MVC acts as a central hub that controls the functions of the dynamic application. The MVC model dictates as follows:

Model: A center where management of all data is stored.

View: The dashboard that generates the output after reviewing the information in the model.

Controller: It receives the input and converts it to commands that it sends to the model and view.

Whereas Angular uses the components that are aligned with directives (with templates). In Angular, there are two types of directives: structural directives that alter the DOM’s layout by replacing the elements and attributive directives that change the DOM’s behaviors and appearance of the element.

Performance and Speed

In terms of performance and speed, both frameworks operate optimally with their latest upgrades made by corporations handling the frameworks. AngularJS has a two-way binding feature which ultimately reduces efforts and time of web application construction. On the other hand, Angular, managed by Microsoft, has upgraded to a better structure, thereby improving performance and speed.

Use of Directives between Angular and AngularJS

Even though both frameworks use directives; however, how they use them makes the ultimate difference. AngularJS is packed with a series of directives whereas Angular has standard directives, but they are used differently. The programmer needs to be cautious while using directives. For example, while creating a two-way binding in AngularJS, you would have to use the ng-model whereas, for one-way binding, you need to use ng-bind. In Angular, you will find only the NgModel. You can use the symbols for one-way binding as:” [],” and two-way binding as:” [()].” “[]” is for property binding, while “()” is for event binding.

When to use AngularJS?

For creating a simplified experience for front-end developers who are majorly focusing on the design aspect of a web application, AngularJS provides them with solid functionalities to create a relevant user experience. If you’re a front-end developer and having second thoughts about using AngularJS for your next big project, we’ve laid out a few important instances where this framework would be most beneficial.

• You’re designing a progressive web application (PWA).
• You’re creating a large enterprise website or another large-scale project that involves a complex web infrastructure.
• You develop website applications that rely on dynamic content and functionalities.
• You’d like to upgrade outdated website application designs.
• You’ve been hired by a big client to improve the user experience for a large website by initiating a major redesign.

Therefore, AngularJS is intended for large-scale projects of a certain complexity. This open framework is helpful to professional web developers who have a high level of skill, knowledge, and experience in writing code, crafting dynamic content, and building web applications that are capable of performing many different functions.

Amazon Prime and Netflix are a couple of examples of complex applications that use this complex yet dynamic framework.

When to use Angular?

When choosing a technology stack for your project, it’s important to pick the right tools that will speed up development and cut your costs.

So, what are the top advantages developers can get from using Angular in their projects? Here are some of the strong sides of Angular, omitting AngularJS since we don’t use the first version in our projects:

• Detailed documentation. Angular holds immense pride in detailed documentation where developers can find all necessary information without asking their work colleagues. Therefore, developers can quickly come up with technical solutions and resolve issues.

• The great ecosystem of third-party components. The popularity of Angular has built a strong community across the globe and with that, thousands of additional tools and components are introduced in Angular apps. As a result, you can get additional functionality and productivity improvements.
• Ahead-of-time compiler. Angular’s AOT compiler converts Typescript and HTML into JavaScript during the build process. This implies that code is compiled before the browser loads your web application; thus, rendering it much faster. An AOT compiler is also much more secure than a just-in-time (JIT) compiler.
• CLI. It is probably the favorite feature for the majority of Angular developers — novice to expert programmers. While automating the whole development process making app initialization, configuration, and development easier, Angular CLI allows you to create a new Angular project and add different features to it. It also lets you run unit and end-to-end tests with a few simple commands. Not only does it increase code quality, but also greatly facilitates development.

So, AngularJS or Angular?

Wondering which version will suit your programming needs? However, it’s a no-brainer. The newer version of Angular is a popular solution but AngularJS comes with its benefits. Besides, before you choose one of them for your new project, try to answer some basic questions beforehand:

• What libraries would you like to use?
• Are they compatible with Angular?
• What web browsers do you want to support? (this one is very important)

If you are going ahead with only new browsers, then Angular is the best possible choice. It’s because it is a forward-looking library, but don’t forget about other browsers. For instance: IE8 for which you should use AngularJS from version 1.3 that supports IE8 and higher.