Angular vs React vs Vue: Best choice for js Framework?
This blog is a helpful resource for deciding which solution is best for you: Angular vs React vs Vue JavaScript framework.
Only a few years ago, developers were primarily debating whether to use Angular or React for their projects. However, in recent years, there has been a surge of interest in a third player known as Vue.js.
If you’re a developer just starting out on a project and can’t decide which JavaScript framework to use, this guide should help.
Every frontend developer has heard of the three frameworks for building web applications: React, Vue.js, and Angular.
React is a user interface library, Angular is a front-end framework, and Vue.js is a progressive framework.
They can be used almost interchangeably to build front-end applications, but they are not identical, so it is important to compare them and understand their differences.
Each framework is component-based, allowing for the rapid development of UI features.
However, they each have a unique structure and architecture, so we’ll start by examining their architectural differences to better understand the philosophy behind them.
In this segment, we’ll look at various aspects of Angular, Vue, and React to see how they can meet your needs. This post is not just a comparison of Angular vs. React vs. Vue, but it also aims to provide a framework for evaluating front-end JavaScript frameworks in general. If a new framework is tried to introduce next year, you will know exactly what parameters to examine!
The architecture of React, Vue, and Angular:
React
React does not require a specific project structure, and as the official “Hello World” example below shows, you can get started with React with just a few lines of code.
For E.g.
ReactDOM.render(
<h1>Hello, world!</h1>,
document.getElementById(‘root’)
);
Because React can be used as a UI library to render elements without requiring a specific project structure, it is not strictly a framework.
React Elements are the smallest components of React apps. They are more powerful than DOM elements because the React DOM ensures that they are updated as soon as something changes.
Components are larger building blocks that define independent and reusable pieces that can be used anywhere in the application. They accept prop inputs and generate elements that are then displayed to the user.
React is built on JavaScript, but it is mostly combined with JSX (JavaScript XML), a syntax extension that allows you to create elements that contain both HTML and JavaScript.
Anything made with JSX could also be made with the React JavaScript API, but most developers prefer JSX because it is more intuitive.
Vue
The Vue.js core library focuses solely on the View layer. It is referred to as a progressive framework because its functionality can be expanded with official and third-party packages such as Vue Router or Vuex to transform it into an actual framework.
Although Vue is not strictly associated with the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) pattern, it was inspired by it in part. With Vue, you’ll mostly be working on the ViewModel layer, ensuring that the application data is processed in such a way that the framework can render an up-to-date View.
The templating syntax in Vue allows you to create View components by combining familiar HTML with special directives and features. Although raw JavaScript and JSX are supported, this templating syntax is preferred.
Vue components are small, self-contained units that can be reused throughout the application. Single File Components (SFCs) with the vue extension include HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, allowing all relevant code to be contained in a single file.
SFCs are the preferred method of organizing code in larger Vue.js projects. SFCs must be transpiled into working JavaScript code using tools like Webpack or Browserify.
Angular
In this article, I’ll be talking about Angular 2 rather than the first version of the framework, which is now known as AngularJS.
The original framework, AngularJS, is an MVC (Model-View-Controller) framework. However, because Angular 2 is also component-based, there is no strict association with MV*-patterns.
Angular projects are divided into Modules, Components, and Services. There is at least one root component and one root module in every Angular application.
Each Angular component includes a Template, a Class that defines the application logic, and MetaData (Decorators). The metadata for a component tells Angular where to look for the building blocks required to create and display its view.
Angular templates are written in HTML, but they can also include Angular template syntax, which includes special directives for output reactive data and rendering multiple elements, among other things.
Components in Angular use Services to delegate business-logic tasks like fetching data or validating input. They are a separate component of Angular applications. While Angular does not require their use, it is strongly advised to structure apps as a collection of distinct services that can be reused.
Because Angular is written in TypeScript, it is recommended that you use it for the best experience, but plain JavaScript is also supported.
The popularity of three frameworks
React
With 160k stars on GitHub, React is one of the most popular JavaScript projects. Facebook created and maintains it, and it is used in many of their internal projects. According to BuiltWith usage statistics, it also powers over 2 million websites.
Vue
Vue has the most stars on GitHub of the three frameworks, with 176k. Evan You, a former Googler, is the project’s creator and leader. According to BuiltWith, it is a very strong, independent project in the open-source community that is used by over 1 million websites.
Angular
Google created Angular, but it is surprising that it is not used in some of their flagship products, such as Search or YouTube. Based on BuiltWith data, it powers over 97,000 websites and is frequently used in enterprise projects.
With 68k stars on GitHub, it is the least starred of the three frameworks. When switching from Angular 1 to Angular 2, however, they created an entirely new repository rather than continuing the AngularJS project, which also has 59k stars.
Ecosystem for three frameworks
When developing applications, open-source packages save you time. Not only that, but they are frequently superior to custom-made components and packages because they have been battle-tested.
It is critical to consider the availability of ready-to-use components, themes, and other tools that can assist you in creating new features more quickly.
React js framework
Many front-end applications rely on global state management to store data such as who is logged in and other user preferences.
Redux is the most popular JavaScript state management project. The Redux team maintains the official React bindings for Redux, which are used by the majority of developers.
Because of React’s popularity, it is extremely simple to find input components and ready-to-use elements. All of them can be found with a quick Google or GitHub search.
The React ecosystem also includes React Native, which allows you to create native iOS and Android apps from a single React codebase. As a result, React can be an excellent choice for developing mobile applications using web technologies.
The MERN stack, which includes MongoDB, ExpressJS, React, and NodeJS, includes React. The great thing about this combination is that the entire application is powered by a single language — JavaScript.
Vue js framework
Despite the fact that Redux can be used in Vue, there are no official bindings. However, you should not be concerned because Vuex is the official state management library designed specifically for Vue applications. Apart from integrating well with Vue, it is also simple to debug using Vue’s developer tools.
It was more difficult to find ready-to-use components in the early days of Vue. As the community has grown, there is a greater variety of input components and advanced elements available to help you accelerate your development.
Weex, a new project for mobile app development, is on the rise. Alibaba created and uses Weex, but it is not as mature or powerful as React Native. Furthermore, because the project is developed and used more in China, it is more difficult to find documentation and solutions to problems in English.
Vue and Laravel work well together, which is why they are frequently used together. To enable the use of Vue in new projects, Laravel provides complete JavaScript and CSS scaffolding.
Angular js framework
The NgRx project can be used to manage the state in Angular. It was inspired by Redux, but it was designed specifically for Angular.
As with Vue and React, there are a plethora of ready-to-use components that you can import into your projects. What distinguishes Angular is the presence of numerous official components in the Angular Material project. This is a Google-sponsored project that provides Material Design components for Angular applications.
Most Popular Technologies
Progressive Web Apps, also known as PWAs, can be created using Angular, React, and Vue.
PWAs are web applications that smartphone users can add as shortcuts to their home screen and have a similar look and feel to native mobile apps.
Premium templates and pre-made applications are available for each framework, but Angular and React have more premium options than Vue.
Improved Performance for the frameworks
When selecting a framework or library, consider performance as well.
You won’t have to worry about performance in many cases, especially if you’re working on a small project. However, as a project’s scope and complexity grow, performance can (and will) become an issue.
It is important to note that when it comes to web performance, the quality of development and adherence to the best practices is more important than the framework chosen.
However, because there are some performance metrics and differences, I’ll investigate them and explain how they may affect your development efforts.
Difference Between Angular React and Vue Framework
Angular | React | Vue | |
Type | A Framework | Library to build UI | A library |
Why Choose | If you want to use TypeScript | If you want to go for the “everything-is-JavaScript” approach | Easy JavaScript and HTML |
Founders | Powered by Google | Maintained by Facebook | Created by Former Google Employee |
Initial Release | September 2016 | March 2013 | February 2014 |
Application Types | If you want to develop native apps, hybrid apps, and web apps | If you want to develop SPA and mobile apps | Advanced SPA and started supporting Native apps |
Ideal for | If you want to focus on large-scale, feature-rich applications | Suitable for modern web development and native-rendered apps for iOS and Android | Ideal for web development and single-page applications |
Learning Curve | A steep learning curve | A little bit easier than Angular | A small learning curve |
Developer- friendly | If you want to use the structure-based framework | If you want to have flexibility in the development environment | If you want to have separation of concerns |
Model | Based on MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture | Based on Virtual DOM (Document Object Model) | Based on Virtual DOM (Document Object Model) |
Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript | JavaScript |
Community Support | A large community of developers and supporters | Facebook developers community | Open-source project sponsored through crowd-sourcing |
Language Preference | Recommends the use of TypeScript | Recommends the use of JSX – JavaScript XML | HTML templates and JavaScript |
Popularity | Widely popular among developers | More than 27,000 stars added over the year | More than 40,000 stars added on GitHub during the year |
Companies Using | Used by Google, Forbes, Wix, and weather.com | Used by Facebook, Uber, Netflix, Twitter, Reddit, Paypal, Walmart, and others | Used by Alibaba, Baidu, GitLab, and others |
Final Conclusion
Who will win the Angular vs. React vs. Vue battle? Only by analyzing your goals and project specifics will you be able to answer this question. Angular may appear complicated and slow, but it is also very flexible, allowing you to easily scale projects and spend less time on development.
Dependency injections, change rendering, and data binding is just a few of the key differences between React and Angular. React is simple to learn, and its Virtual DOM is an excellent time-saving tool. However, because React is the most popular development framework in the world, it has a large community surrounding it.
Vue, on the other hand, is the most modern, multi-functional, and lightweight framework created by the community rather than a commercial company. Vue assists in the development of high-performance web and mobile apps that are simple to create and maintain. However, regardless of how appealing React, Angular, or Vue appear, Anques Technolabs recommends that you try each of them to find the solution that best fits your project. And if you need help getting started on a project, we’re here to help.