If you are taking baby steps in the world of programming you may have already assessed that JavaScript is one of the most important languages to learn. In fact, none other than global technology giant IBM in 2017 said that JavaScript is one of the first languages to learn for a developer. This fact has been established by numerous other surveys with the Pearson Frank’s 2017 Salary Survey putting this programming language on the top in its annual report. These two signals – one coming from a technology giant and another from a leading global research firm surely reiterates the fact that if you are looking for a career in web and application development you need to master this programming language.
So far so good, but when it comes to learning JavaScript and using it in the applications most developers are overwhelmed at the choice they have and don’t know which way to go. As a developer choosing the right JavaScript framework for your application can be one of the most important decisions you will ever make. Tread the wrong path and you may be stuck with a mediocre app that doesn’t address all the goals. The popularity of JavaScript in web application development has meant that the market is flooded with more than two dozen frameworks based on MVC (Model-View-Controller) and MVVM (Model–View–ViewModel) architecture and dozens of others. Going by numbers alone may not help you choose the right path. So we come to the big question – which one do you choose?
Gong by the talk in the developers’ community in the recent times Angular, React and Vue have emerged as the most popular ones and are way ahead of other frameworks that are being used. They are flexible and allow you to explore your technical know-how and creativity to the maximum. How does it fare when we put Angular vs React or Angular vs Vue? Well, given that all three of them have their large fan following and come with tons of features and functionalities it surely isn’t the easiest of things to write on. Let us try and settle the Angular vs React vs Vue debate by taking a look at these three frameworks objectively and also discussing their pros and cons.
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The Basics
Angular has been a workhorse if we can use that term when it comes to JavaScript frameworks. It is TypeScriptbased with none other than Google responsible for developing and maintaining it. While we have seen the release of Angular 2 as the successor to Angular.js the older framework was first released in 2010 but the older version still gets its bug fixes and remains popular with the developers. The latest release 1.6.8 brought in many new bug fixes which have been welcomed by the developers. Sites like weather.com, Google, Wix and Forbes are known to be among the major users of Angular.js. Since you may come across comparisons such as Angular 2 vs React or Angular 4 versus React here however we shall stick with Angular.js for the comparison purpose.
Like Angular, Reach also comes from a major stable and perhaps the most loved technology company of the 21st century. Yes, you have guessed it right it is being developed and maintained by none other than Facebook. Instagram also has been helping in its development along with a large developer community. Developers fondly call it the perfect library for building interfaces which makes it ideal for building user interfaces. First released in March 2013, React.js’ latest stable release is 16.2. It finds patronage among leading businesses in the world which include the likes of Twitter, PayPal, Airbnb, WalMart, Tumblr apart from Facebook.
Vue is relatively a young kid on the block that was first released in 2014 but only became popular in 2016. It was first released by an ex-Google employee and since then is being developed and maintained by a small team of developers nothing comparable to the scale of the team working on Angular and React. In fact, comparing Angular vs Vue may not even sound fair to many developers. But in a short span of time, it definitely has created its share of fan following and is seen as a great example of a small team taking on giant rivals. In the last couple of years, there has been more talk about Vue than any other JavaScript framework that we can think of. At present, it is being used by Expedia, Alibaba, Nintendo and Baidu.
Learning Curve
If you are a seasoned developer who is acclimatized to the JS ecosystem this may not be relevant to you but budding developers often make their call based on this parameter! And given the fact that you are reading this piece, it is safe to assume that you belong to the latter category. Several online polls and forum posts have collaborated that Vue has the easiest learning curve among the three and you can get started even if you have some basic knowledge of jQuery. This may also be attributed to the fact that it is still new and yet to offer the scope of development like the others do. Switching over to the debate React vs Angular the former is the winner and Angular would require some time to get acquainted.
Development Time/Complexity
You don’t wish to keep repeating the same tasks while working on the project and hence development time or complexity involved in executing the framework is important. React would take a lot of time in setting up but once you have done so it will allow you to develop the app with relative ease. Not surprisingly Vue takes the least time when it comes to setting up and won’t force you to go through making multiple changes or dealing with too much syntax. Angular can take a lot of your time to work with. It comes bloated with several syntaxes and you will have to manage them to achieve desired results.
Size and Performance
If we are to talk about the size and performance of the framework Angular.js is definitely way bigger than the other two hence it allows you to address complex challenges in development. However, its sheer size can also pose a big headache as apps developed in Angular tend to draw a lot of juice out of the device they are being run on and may create issues when being accessed on smartphones, especially the low-end ones. Vue sits on the other end of the spectrum as it is the smallest in size and hence allows you to create apps that would run on the cheapest smartphones but you will also have to compromise on meeting complex challenges. React.js sits somewhere in between and will allow you to walk the middle path.
Pros & Cons of Angular
Reasons to Choose Angular
- It is modular in nature where you can easily use its modules and components in different scenarios and customize them to suit your needs.
- It offers more control over the application when compared to those developed using Vue and React.
- js is great when it comes to testing applications. You can debug easily as it facilitates end-to-end testing as well as unit testing. Dependency injections allow you to isolate components and test them.
- Due to its usage of MCV and MVVM Angular separates data from the visual elements and design of the application which allows developers to create complex applications easily. –
Reasons Angular Can Trouble You
- If we put React vs Angular or even compare Angular to Vue it isn’t the easiest of frameworks to start with. In case you haven’t worked with JavaScript in the past steep learning curve awaits you.
- Angular isn’t the best choice if one is looking to create a single-page application. Surprisingly it doesn’t allow you to simply drop a SPA into the full stack.
- Angular suffers from trust issues as Google has been dropping features in every new version and this is one reason many developers prefer to stay away from it.
Pros & Cons of React
Reasons to Choose React
- You don’t need to spend days and hours trying to grasp React.js like you would have to do in the case of Angular. It uses JavaScript ES6 which is easier to master compared to Angular’s TypeScript It isn’t far behind Vue on the easier learning curve factor.
- Most of the optimization work on your application would be done by the framework itself and there isn’t much to sweat out.
- It perfectly works alongside many other JavaScript libraries and won’t give you hiccups if you need to create an interaction with other libraries.
- If you are planning to build Single Page Applications this is undoubtedly the framework for you.
Reasons React Can Trouble You
- The blend of React and HTML isn’t the ideal thing you would want to see in your application. In fact, it often acts as a limiting factor when it comes to developing complex applications.
- React doesn’t often allow the flexibility to create applications with the components available in the library and you have to add additional form validation packages.
- If you are one of those developers who relies a lot on the documentation you will face problems with React as given the fast pace of developments and updates documentation hasn’t followed suit.
Pros & Cons of Vue
Reasons to Choose Vue
- Compared to the three Vue is surely the easiest of frameworks to get started with. If you have no prior experience in using JavaScript this one should be your obvious choice.
- The CSS, JavaScript code and Templates don’t come all mixed up in Vue like they do in the case of React which is similar to Angular and a welcome advantage for developers.
- Vue offers you the flexibility to either use ES5, ES6 and even TypeScriptas your scripting language which is ideal for a new developer.
- Vue being a community initiative has come up with comprehensive documentation. It is updated regularly which is something new developers like the most about this framework.
Reasons Vue Can Trouble You
- Vue doesn’t have a completely modular architecture and hence achieving complex functionalities with it can be a good challenge.
- Vue is being developed by a small community of developers and hence it is still classified as closed development unlike the other two where a large community of developers are involved.
- While it may not affect your development project, Vue isn’t backed by a major company as is the case with Angular (Google) and React (Facebook) and hence it is something that can be hard to sell to a client who would wish to have an application developed on an established framework.
Who Wins The Duel?
So where do you stand after taking an objective look at these three JavaScript frameworks? To sum up, each of these has its own set of headwinds and tailwinds. If you are planning to develop an application without much fuss and fancy Vue may be the right choice for you. It won’t require you to have a large team to execute the project. Angular is ideal for large development teams who have a strong background in JavaScript and wish to create web applications that solve complex business problems. Finally, React stands somewhere in between and is ideal for a small development team aiming to create single-page applications but also wishes to have a little more flexibility compared to what Vue can offer.
