Why you should migrate from AngularJS now
December 7, 2020 at 12:47 pm,
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AngularJS Migration is on the #HotTopics!
It’s no secret that migrating from AngularJS to the newer versions was a buzz for quite some time now in the tech world. Although the notion of “the newer the better” is relevant to Angular, still there are ongoing concerns if it’s actually worth it. There is always the question of how long it will take and how much will it cost. And we completely understand if you are undecided on the issue of migration.
But worry no more! We will guide you through things you need to know before making the final decision. First, you’ll discover in which ways newer versions of Angular are better than AngularJS. After that, we will give our recommendations on upgrading and introduce our amazing technology that will automate your migration that will make it fast and completely hassle-free!
AngularJS vs. Angular
AngularJS
As you know, AngularJS is a JavaScript framework to implement the front end of web applications and it covers all versions of the framework that appeared before Angular 2. Although it was made by Google in 2009, the actual release took place in 2012.In accordance with “Built With”, AngularJS powers more than 3 million websites, which makes it the most popular open-source web development technologies worldwide. It doesn’t come as a surprise because with AngularJS, you can fast create dynamic interfaces. This is all due to the use of declarative programming behind this framework to build the front-end of web applications. It also uses HTML as a template language, which allows creating a very expressive and readable environment that is quick to develop.
Angular
Just as AngularJS, Angular was made by Google and released in 2016, which was the direct descendant of the first-ever created AngularJS. Angular2+ or simply Angular are referred to as Angular2 and the later versions, and all of them are Typescript-based platforms.If you are not quite sure if there is a significant difference between the two and later versions, however, you might be surprised. The code for Angular was actually written from scratch, therefore, it has not much in common with the initial framework. Developers really wanted to make significant improvements in enhancing the performance of web applications.
AngularJS vs. Angular comparison
Source GBKSOFT.com
Advantages of Angular over AngularJS
The table above comparing AngularJS and Angular might be a bit confusing, so let us take you through the crucial points and tell you how the migration will enhance your application!Boost in performance
The main reason is that this framework was created mainly for web designers, thus, it is not that good at meeting programmers’ requirements. Reportedly, Angular offers a five-time higher speed than AngularJS and that is quite an amazing improvement.Besides the faster page load time, the change detection was heavily optimized in Angular. Therefore, especially for larger applications, a migration from AngularJS to Angular can really boost the performance of your app, i.e. when presenting large lists.
Mobile-driven approach
Angular allows developers to build lightweight applications that may be downloaded faster. One of the main reasons is that Angular uses so-called lazy scripting. This means that it loads particular modules only when they are needed. On top of that, some packages (for example, animations) were removed from the main Angular core. This enabled lighter and faster performance. Code optimization
Unlike AngularJS that uses JavaScript, Angular 2x is based on TypeScript. The latter is a superset of ECMAScript 6 (ES6) and has an advanced type-checking feature. This means that most mistakes can be noticed before transpiling. Hence, developers can build large applications and avoid compile-time errors. With Typescript, code may be structured in classes, therefore blocks of functionality can now expose a clear API to the developer with superb support from your IDE.Maintainability
Among many other differences, we have better maintainability. Angular allows programmers to update applications by swapping specific components in and out as components co-exist within one space but are independent of each other (they have their own methods, structures, and APIs), which can be a money-saving advantage for companies. Moreover, the components are reusable across applications by exposing a clear API.In AngularJS, depending on the developer's implementation, the context of a directive could never be 100% clear, as other parts of the application are able to manipulate and change it, which can become a hot mess. In a big application, learning those dependencies can be very time consuming, that’s why the component-based approach of Angular is a huge improvement.
Reduced development time, costs and better support
With the later versions of Angular, developers can build an application faster and easier thanks to tools such as the official CLI, IDEs with plugins for Angular, installable components and many more that AngularJS doesn’t have.It is a no-brainer that reduced development time equals fewer associated costs, as programmers are mainly paid on per hour basis. Besides, the maintenance of the application of Angular also becomes cheaper as there are more software engineers that specialize in this technology, which makes their rate lower.
As for better support, the Angular creators release an enhanced version of angular twice a year. Therefore, you can keep up with the latest advancements, so your applications won’t get outdated.
The migration done right
Here are a few tips for you to make sure that the migration will be as painless as possible:
Make a transition to TypeScript beforehand
First, you need to bring in the TypeScript compiler before you start the migration process. Make sure to carefully review the existing code, make annotations, etc. Although it will take some time, however, the results will be worth it.Migrate smoothly
A lot of people are hesitant to upgrade applications to the newer versions of Angular because, as they think, it will pause the use and feature development of such applications for a significant period of time. But that’s not true. You can migrate gradually, since both frameworks may co-exist within one app.Follow Angular guide
The Angular team published guidelines with best practices on upgrading to the later versions of the framework. Following them will make this task easier for you. In addition, Angular has a wide and active community so you should be able to find support from people who have experience in a successful migration.To read the original article from GBKSOFT, please click here
Still afraid of the hassle - Then why not automate it?
We here at LogicFlow developed an amazing technology that automates large parts of the migration process. With that technology, we can translate services, filters and directives from AngularJS to Angular. Depending on your architectural needs, the translation process can be configured to integrate different patterns. You could, for example, want to make use of RxJs instead of promises.By working with migration experts and manually fine-tuning your code to your needs, we make sure to not only migrate your codebase but to make it future proof and integrate it into your existing application landscape. We are dedicated to adhering to Best Practices and Coding standards, thereby ensuring that your developers can work on the new codebase in no time.
For applications with ongoing feature development, we promote a hybrid approach, where we migrate parts of your application while work is done on other parts. At some point, your developers can switch to Angular and the rest of the migration takes place. Thereby, instead of migrating code, your developers are free to keep improving your application.
Conclusion
I hope we have equipped you with enough knowledge on the difference between the AngularJS and later versions, the importance of migration, and the way around it to make it less stressful for you and your company. The final decision is always up to you, but we recommend to migrate as it is an investment worth making. We are proud of our amazing technology that will help your business to migrate effortlessly and would love to help you with this hard yet exciting journey!Hope you enjoyed our #MondayBlog on the latest news from the techno world. Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter on our website, and we will make sure that you’ll not miss out on anything! Have a great and productive week and see you at the next #MondayBlog by LogicFlow!
