In the swiftly moving digital arena, launching a web-based enterprise application before the target market can be daunting. And why not, there is a lot on the plate beginning from laying out a perfect game plan to approach coding, testing, and much more. Every step adds up its significant contribution to the development period, reinventing the wheel. What if you could save this time to come up with additional features or tighten the code base? This is where web app development frameworks come in. With an extensive range of features that they can extend, they are capable of being an ally to the web developers by providing support to common functionalities. This includes database access, authentication, session management and much more. Something that AngularJS or ReactJS would do for you. But how to choose between the two? The dilemma which business owners, technical decision makers, and project managers have been facing for a long time now. Here is our attempt to help you out by laying out some significant benefits of both.

What is ReactJS ?

React.js can be precisely referred to as library that enables reusable UI component development. It facilitates dynamic and interactive web pages while dealing with the view model of MVC. React is known to offer a simpler programming model by abstracting DOM from the user, thus, enhancing the performance. One of the advantages provided by React.js is its ability to render on the server making effective use of Native. With well implemented one-way reactive data flow, front end developed using React.js face reduced boilerplate.

Features of ReactJS

• JSX: JSX is a preprocessor step that lets you use XML syntax in the Javascript. While implementing JSX with React.js is optional, it is generally recommended to ensure clean coding.

• Components: React.js entirely relies on components. That is, everything is made up of the components or small units which are combined to render a complete view. Thus, maintaining code for large projects becomes significantly more comfortable.

• Unidirectional Data Flow and Flux: Making use Flux, React.js implements unidirectional data flow making it easier to reason about your app.

Pros  of ReactJS

• Uses JavaScript object or DOM that significantly improves the app’s performance. This is due to the reason that JavaScript DOM is faster than regular DOM.

• Can be effectively used on the client as well as server side.

• Maintaining larger apps is easier since components and data patterns are used.

Cons of ReactJS

• Covers only the view layer of the application. Thus, web developers will need to implement other technologies as well to fulfill the tooling requirements.

• Uses inline templating and JSX.

How ReactJS Improves Web Development?

#1. Better User Experience

Unlike other JavaScript frameworks, React Native uses the abstract form of Real DOM, known as virtual DOM instead. Thus, the changes made by users can be rendered to the application without influencing the interface. Thus, React.js development delivers highly dynamic and interactive web pages coupled with the flawless user experience.

#2. Time-Saving

React Native works by combining small units, called components, into bigger ones thus delivering the complete view. Each component acts as an independent unit having its own logic. Therefore, changes made to a single part does not affect the others. Besides, the updates are easily manageable.

In the times where the same logic has to be rendered, web developers can simply re-use the component, thus saving a lot of development time and accelerating the time-to-market.

#3. Quick Development

As mentioned above, since part of the code is re-usable, web developers implement existing code and apply hot reloading into the process. Not only does it improve the app performance, but also augment development speed.

#4. Faster Testing

React extensively uses Redux, thus promoting a hassle-free testing process. It significantly helps with storage and management of the large, complex applications with a vast range of dynamic elements. With Redux, web developers can add application state to the single object in a way that other components can readily access the state without using the child components or callbacks. All this makes it easier for the software testers to test the application and log data changes while making using hot reloading effectively.

#5. Cost-effectiveness

ReactJS empowers the developers to operate directly using components. It uses downward data binding that prevents parent entities from getting affected by the child entities. This ensures stable coding and facilitates easy develop in the future.

Overview of AngularJS

AngularJS is one of the most compelling JavaScript frameworks that offers an extensive range of features to facilitate web design and development. It aims to empower the web development teams, giving them more control over the web application.

Technically speaking, AngularJS is an open-source web application framework. It is often referred to as structural framework that delivers excellent dynamic web apps. Letting you extend HTML’s syntax to the application, it allows one to express clean components.

Features of AngularJS

General characteristics of AngularJS include:

• AngularJS is free and open-source.
• AngularJS facilitates Rich Internet Applications (RIA).
• It allows the user to code client-side applications using JavaScript in a clean Model View Controller (MVC) way.
• AngularJS is capable of handling a browser-specific JavaScript code. In other words, application coded using AngulaJS are browser compliant.

Pros of AngularJS

• It extends the ability to develop single page applications while ensuring top-notch quality and maintainability.
• AngulaJS development offers a rich and responsive experience by extending data binding to HTML.
• The web applications developed using AngulaJS are unit testable and are made up of reusable components.
• WIth AngularJS, web developers can develop applications in a way that views are pure HTML while controllers coded in javaScript handle the business processing.
• AngularJS uses dependency injection while using separation of concerns.
• AngularJS framework lets the developers achieve maximum functionality while coding less.

Cons of AngulaJS

• Since AgularJS is a purely JavaScript framework, web applications developed using it are not secure enough as they do not provide enough scope for server-side authentication and authorization.
• AngularJS is non-degradable, In other words, if the web user disables JavaScript, nothing would be visible except the underlying page.

What are the Benefits of AngularJS Front-end Development Framework?

In case you are planning to go for AngularJS for web development, here are some of the perks that you can expect:

#1. Cleaner Code

AbgularJS functions by using a superset of Javascript, known as TypeScript programming language. While it is capable of compiling JavaScript, it makes the error discover easier than ever. Thus, web developers can write an error-free and cleaner code to guarantee superb code quality. This perk comes most handy when you are aiming at enterprise app development.

#2. Quick Development

AngularJS extends HTML to the web development code. In other words, the learning curve is significantly reduced. Thus, developing web applications using AngulaJS is easier for web developers and progresses quickly without involving too many efforts.

#3. Improved Server Performance

AngularJS supports caching and similar processes to take the load off the servers. Here, servers only serve the static files and respond to the API calls. This provides scope to the servers to perform well owing to less traffic.

#4. Convenient Testing

AngularJS extensively supports both the testing types including end-to-end testing as well as unit testing. This is primarily because it supports easy and flexible testing at any level of web development.

#5. Promotes Parallel Development

With AngulaJS, developers can enjoy the liberty of parallel development, thanks to the framework’s ability to handle dependency coupled with MVC architecture. Additionally, AngularJS grants entire control to the developers.

ReactJS or AngularJS: Who Wins the Battle?

Now that you are pretty clear with the features of both the frameworks, here’s how they prove their hold on various parameters.

#1. DOM Manipulation

ReactJS: React is all about components. Instead of updating the real DOM, it manipulates the virtual DOM to facilitate one-way data binding.

AngularJS: Following two-way data binding while updating MVC, AngularJS updates the Real DOM.

#2. Scalability

ReactJS: Undoubtedly, ReactJS offers higher scalability as compared to AngularJS. Thus, the code can be easily tested and deployed.

AngulaJS: Powered with a robust CLI and design paradigms, AngularJS web application development offers significant scalability.

#3. Library Compatibility

ReactJS: Despite that, it doesn’t use Real DOMs, ReactJS uses pure JavaScript logic. Additionally, even the DOM-based libraries have their alternatives when it comes to ReactJS.

AngularJS: Framework would have scaled better on this parameter if it could have avoided TypeScript that needs a definition for every library.

#4. Native Rendering

Better put as “beyond the web” rendering. While all the libraries are capable of offering native rendering, the judgment can only be made on how well one performs than the other.

ReactJS: It comes with the features of React Native, Alibaba rax, React Windows, Next.js. To facilitate efficient native rendering.

AngularJS: Regardless AngularJS comes with the powerful package of Ionic 2 and Native Script, it fails on this parameter when compared to ReactJS.

#5. Simplicity

ReactJS: This framework is not simple by any mean and requires some time frame to set up.

AngularJS: In case of AngularJS, developers do not face much hassle while understanding. It is pretty simple and easy regardless of the inherent complexity which at times, increases the confusion.

#6. Development Time

ReactJS: ReactJS application development takes up lesser time despite its long installation process. Moreover, it is relatively easy to add new features.

AngularJS: While Angular is very much competitive, the complex syntax even to take upon simple things put AgularJS among the last one in the list.

Comparison: In a Nutshell

Take Home Message

ReactJS and AngulaJS take completely different lookout to web development. Having their own advantages and drawbacks, none is a clear winner here. While ReactJS may suit one type of application the best, AngularJS may be the most suitable choice to another kind. While you are taking a leap to web application development for startup/ big enterprise/ mid-market business, you need to work out with the developers to find out which one suits your custom app goals and system constraints.