Even though it may seem just a formality when paired with all the decisions made in the first phase of the project, like choosing the requirements, tech stack selection is crucial to the success of your project.

Unfitting frameworks and libraries may slow project development down, making it harder to find errors and implement integrations. Analogically, a good selection of tools can boost development, allowing programmers to focus on problem-solving instead of fighting with the code.

React and Angular are often compared due to their dynamic character and similar applications. In this article, you will find out what they both serve and how they are built in order to make the most out of their potential.

Angular in a nutshell

Angular is a popular front-end framework used mainly for creating single-page web applications - apps loading all the necessary resources upon the initial requests and then updating it dynamically instead of reloading the full page.

With its features facilitating the building of dynamic user interfaces, Angular is used for that purpose more than any other library. Two-way data binding and dependency injection - these features, inherent to Angular, make it easier to manage state.

Another aspect worth mentioning is reactive programming - a programming paradigm that treats data streams as first-class citizens. The applications built in this paradigm put reacting to the changes in the data streams first. Angular provides an extensive set of tools for reactive programming. So, if your app is supposed to be dynamic and contains elements that change according to real-time data, Angular may be a good choice!

React in a nutshell

React is a popular open-source JavaScript library. Implemented by Facebook, it soon gained broad recognition as an easy-to-work tool that can optimize the state management of the application. It is mainly due to the virtual DOM, that improves the performance of the application by minimizing real DOM operations and replacing them with the ones carried out on the virtual representation of the interface.

Component-based architecture, a feature that links it with Angular, is another benefit to look out for. Aside from facilitating state management, it makes it easier for developers to build complex applications. They can reuse components to save time on writing code and they are more flexible in terms of construction of their solutions. As they write less, they can focus on solving complex problems.

What is the difference between Angular and React?

React is written in JavaScript, while Angular relies on TypeScript, JS's subset with simplified syntax. Contrary to Angular, React uses one-way data binding, meaning it doesn't support asynchronous data flows.

While Angular is a framework, React is a library. That means Angular is more comprehensive, providing a more complete set of tools, guidelines, and software architecture. As a library, React allows developers to use pre-written code to add functionalities to the created software, but it will not impose specific rules to development on them.

That has its benefits - developers remain more flexible in terms of structure and approach - but at the same time, requires them to put more effort and time in development. If you have a lot at stake, and you are building or rebuilding a complex, dynamic application, it may be safer to go with Angular.

Remember that you can use both Angular and React in one project, creating React components within an Angular application. However, make sure it will be beneficial for your project, as you may encounter some challenges on the way (due to increased complexity).

What are the similarities between React and Angular?

Both React and Angular enable working on the server side of the application. Both are component-based, making the developer's life easier and facilitating the management of the application's state.

As you can see, both tools have the advantage, and both suit a dynamic, complex front-end. We hope our tips will help you make the right choice!