Basic benefits of Angular framework
Anyone who’s seen me hunched over a computer this past week will know that I’m knee-deep in learning Angular, the NodeJS framework that I really wish the roll20 gaming website had been built in.
So, I’m going to write a series of blog posts to help me and others pick up Angular. Today, I begin with a high-level summary of what Angular is and why it’s a popular, efficient framework.
Angular Is…
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A TypeScript-based front-end app framework - (Typescript is a superset of Javascript that compiles to vanilla Javascript, and a superset is a programming language that contains all features of the subset language but is enhanced with additional features)
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Open source, but maintained mainly by Google and a massive community of other developers
 
Angular has three key aspects
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Supports apps in a browser
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Supports server-side rendering
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Supports apps on mobile devices
 
Benefits of Angular
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Server side rendering
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Clean code architecture - code is encapsulated into logical chunks that allow for easy scaling and debugging
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Convenient cross-browser implementation
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Creates **Single Page Applications ** (SPAs) that don’t need to refresh to be updated
 
What is server-side rendering and what benefits does it have?
Server-side rendering is when a Javascript application renders a “first view” of the app on a server and sends it to the client, instead of vice versa.
Benefits of server-side rendering:
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Dynamic views - browser can be updated and data to be transmitted without page refreshing, allowing creation of Single Page Applications
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Better separation of responsbilities - Avoids mixing front-end and back-end code