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AngularJS vs Handlebars.js: What are the differences?
Introduction:
AngularJS and Handlebars.js are both popular JavaScript frameworks that are used for dynamic web development. While they share some similarities in terms of allowing developers to build user interfaces, there are several key differences between the two. In this article, we will explore these differences to understand how they vary in terms of functionality and approach.
Templating Language vs Framework: One of the primary differences between AngularJS and Handlebars.js is that AngularJS is a complete front-end JavaScript framework, while Handlebars.js is a templating language. AngularJS offers a comprehensive solution for building dynamic web applications, providing features such as two-way data binding, dependency injection, and routing. On the other hand, Handlebars.js focuses solely on providing a templating engine that helps in generating HTML from data.
Two-Way Data Binding: AngularJS, being a framework, provides a powerful two-way data binding feature. This means that any changes made to the model are instantly reflected in the view, and vice versa. Handlebars.js, being a templating language, does not have built-in two-way data binding. Developers need to manually update the view when the model changes or vice versa. This can make it more cumbersome to manage data synchronization in complex applications.
Directives and Components: AngularJS introduces the concept of directives, which are reusable components that allow developers to extend HTML with new elements and attributes. These directives provide powerful functionality and help in creating modular, maintainable code. Handlebars.js, being a templating language, does not have built-in support for directives or components. It primarily focuses on generating HTML based on data.
JavaScript Code Execution: In AngularJS, JavaScript code can be directly embedded in HTML using expressions and AngularJS directives. This allows developers to easily write logic and manipulate data within the view itself. Handlebars.js, on the other hand, does not support the execution of JavaScript code within the template. It primarily focuses on rendering the data provided to generate HTML.
Conditional Statements and Loops: AngularJS provides powerful constructs for implementing conditional statements (such as ng-if, ng-switch) and loops (such as ng-repeat). These features make it easier to handle dynamic data and generate appropriate HTML based on conditions. Handlebars.js, being a templating language, also provides similar features for conditional statements and loops, but they are generally less sophisticated and have less flexibility compared to AngularJS.
Extensibility and Customization: AngularJS provides a high level of extensibility and customization options through its module and service architecture. Developers can easily create custom components, filters, and services to meet their application requirements. Handlebars.js, being primarily a templating language, does not provide the same level of extensibility and customizability. It focuses more on generating HTML based on data rather than offering a modular framework for building entire applications.
**In Summary, AngularJS is a comprehensive front-end JavaScript framework that provides features like two-way data binding, directives, and extensive extensibility options. Handlebars.js, on the other hand, is a templating language focused on generating HTML based on data. While both have their strengths, AngularJS offers a more comprehensive and flexible solution for building dynamic web applications.
@All: I am searching for the best template engine for .NET. I started looking into several template engines, including the Dotliquid, Handlebars.js, Scriban, and Razorlight. I found handlebar a bit difficult to use when using the loops and condition because you need to register for helper first. DotLiquid and Scriban were easy to use and in Razorlight I did not find the example for loops.
Can you please suggest which template engine is best suited for the use of conditional/list and looping and why? Or if anybody could provide me a resource or link where I can compare which is best?
Thanks In Advance
I like Handlebars, it's very mature... some would say-- outdated.
Handlebars loops are done via {{#each myList}}. Read the docs! https://handlebarsjs.com/guide
Remember, don't put logic in your templates! Keep this layer simple. Sorry to hear you have to use dotNet.
What is the best MVC stack to build mobile-friendly, light-weight, and fast single-page application with Spring Boot as back-end (Java)? Is Bootstrap still required to front-end layer these days?
The idea is to host on-premise initially with the potential to move to the cloud. Which combo would have minimal developer ramp-up time and low long-term maintenance costs (BAU support)?
React might be a good option if you're considering a mobile app for the future, because of react native. Although, Vue.js has the easiest learning curve and offers a better developer ramp-up time. Vue.js is great to build SPAs, very clean and organized and you won't have a lot of long-term maintenance problems (like AngularJS, for example). Bootstrap can still be used, but with flexbox there's no need anymore.
I recommend React because of less memory occupant compare to Angular, but this will depend on your organisation flexibility. When you use React you need to import different libraries as per your need. On the other side angular is a complete framework.
Performance-wise I vote for react js as it loads up quickly and lighter on the mobile. You can make good PWA with SSR as well.
If you are new to all three react will be a good choice considering, react-native will be useful if you want to build cross platform mobile application today or tomorrow. If you are talking about bootstrap styling framework than it's a choice you can style ur components by ur self or use bootstrap 4.0 framework. The complete stack mentioned above is platform agnostic u can run it anywhere you want be it cloud or on-premise.
Have you ever stuck with the question that which one is the best front-end framework for you?
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I honestly think the best choice for which framework you use should come down to your team's skills. If you have one Senior Dev that is great at React, but like 3-4 mid-level devs, and a handful of junior devs that know Vue.js ... maybe look at using Vue.js a little more seriously.
Yes, there are pros and cons to framework decisions, but I honestly see a LOT of teams not even consider whether a specific framework is a good fit.
I honestly think the best choice for which framework you use should come down to your team's skills. If you have one Senior Dev that is great at React, but like 3-4 mid-level devs, and a handful of junior devs that know Angular ... maybe look at using Angular a little more seriously.
Yes, there are pros and cons to framework decisions, but I honestly see a LOT of teams not even consider whether a specific framework is a good fit.
It was easier to find people who've worked on React than Vue. Angular did not have this problem, but seemed way too bloated compared to React. Angular also brings in restrictions working within their MVC framework. React on the other hand only handles the view/rendering part and rest of the control is left to the developers. React has a very active community, support and has lots of ready-to-use plugins/libraries available.
It is a very versatile library that provides great development speed. Although, with a bad organization, maintaining projects can be a disaster. With a good architecture, this does not happen.
Angular is obviously powerful and robust. I do not rule it out for any future application, in fact with the arrival of micro frontends and cross-functional teams I think it could be useful. However, if I have to build a stack from scratch again, I'm left with react.
I used React not just because it is more popular than Angular. But the declarative and composition it gives out of the box is fascinating and React.js is just a very small UI library and you can build anything on top of it.
Composing components is the strongest asset of React for me as it can breakdown your application into smaller pieces which makes it easy to reuse and scale.
I was first sceptical about using Angular over AngularJS. That's because AngularJS was so easy to integrate in existing websites. But building apps from scratch with Angular is so much easier. Of course, you have to build and boilerplate them first, but after that - you save a ton of time. Also it's very cozy to write code in TypeScript.
Our whole Vue.js frontend stack (incl. SSR) consists of the following tools:
- Nuxt.js consisting of Vue CLI, Vue Router, vuex, Webpack and Sass (Bundler for HTML5, CSS 3), Babel (Transpiler for JavaScript),
- Vue Styleguidist as our style guide and pool of developed Vue.js components
- Vuetify as Material Component Framework (for fast app development)
- TypeScript as programming language
- Apollo / GraphQL (incl. GraphiQL) for data access layer (https://apollo.vuejs.org/)
- ESLint, TSLint and Prettier for coding style and code analyzes
- Jest as testing framework
- Google Fonts and Font Awesome for typography and icon toolkit
- NativeScript-Vue for mobile development
The main reason we have chosen Vue.js over React and AngularJS is related to the following artifacts:
- Empowered HTML. Vue.js has many similar approaches with Angular. This helps to optimize HTML blocks handling with the use of different components.
- Detailed documentation. Vue.js has very good documentation which can fasten learning curve for developers.
- Adaptability. It provides a rapid switching period from other frameworks. It has similarities with Angular and React in terms of design and architecture.
- Awesome integration. Vue.js can be used for both building single-page applications and more difficult web interfaces of apps. Smaller interactive parts can be easily integrated into the existing infrastructure with no negative effect on the entire system.
- Large scaling. Vue.js can help to develop pretty large reusable templates.
- Tiny size. Vue.js weights around 20KB keeping its speed and flexibility. It allows reaching much better performance in comparison to other frameworks.
It is a complete waste of time and life to learn a different framework to solve the same problem (Both AngularJS and Angular build A+ UI's, but both require a lot of time to learn). It's dumb to spend 200 hours learning AngularJS, then 200 hours learning Angular when you could spend 200 hours learning AngularJS and 200 hours learning how to solve a different problem (like AI/ML, Data Science, AR/VR, Digital Marketing, etc.)
React has by far and away been our most important library choice throughout the history of Sellpy. It is a library that offers great flexibility supported by a really strong core. The React team is doing incredible work bringing quality features to the core project and tons of quality third party libraries fill in the gaps.
Pros of AngularJS
- Quick to develop889
- Great mvc589
- Powerful573
- Restful520
- Backed by google505
- Two-way data binding349
- Javascript343
- Open source329
- Dependency injection307
- Readable197
- Fast75
- Directives65
- Great community63
- Free57
- Extend html vocabulary38
- Components29
- Easy to test26
- Easy to learn25
- Easy to templates24
- Great documentation23
- Easy to start21
- Awesome19
- Light weight18
- Angular 2.015
- Efficient14
- Javascript mvw framework14
- Great extensions14
- Easy to prototype with11
- High performance9
- Coffeescript9
- Two-way binding8
- Lots of community modules8
- Mvc8
- Easy to e2e7
- Clean and keeps code readable7
- One of the best frameworks6
- Easy for small applications6
- Works great with jquery5
- Fast development5
- I do not touch DOM4
- The two-way Data Binding is awesome4
- Hierarchical Data Structure3
- Be a developer, not a plumber.3
- Declarative programming3
- Typescript3
- Dart3
- Community3
- Fkin awesome2
- Opinionated in the right areas2
- Supports api , easy development2
- Common Place2
- Very very useful and fast framework for development2
- Linear learning curve2
- Great2
- Amazing community support2
- Readable code2
- Programming fun again2
- The powerful of binding, routing and controlling routes2
- Scopes2
- Consistency with backend architecture if using Nest2
- Fk react, all my homies hate react1
Pros of Handlebars.js
- Simple106
- Great templating language77
- Open source50
- Logicless36
- Integrates well into any codebase20
- Easy to create helper methods for complex scenarios10
- Created by Yehuda Katz7
- Easy For Fornt End Developers,learn backend2
- Awesome1
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Cons of AngularJS
- Complex12
- Event Listener Overload3
- Dependency injection3
- Hard to learn2
- Learning Curve2