Although in theory they are “similar”, each of these technologies has its own purpose, use, advantages and disadvantages. In this article we tell you what they are.
It is common for similar technologies and languages to exist. However, it is necessary for a good programming professional (especially Front) to know the peculiarities of each one in 2022.
For those new to the area, confusion always arises between the use of these three technologies: Angular, React and Vue.js. If the programmer chooses the wrong technology, in the most common scenario he will make the project heavier than necessary.
Just a few years ago, in 2015, the main discussion that surrounded developers was whether they should adopt Angular or React for their applications. However, in recent years there has been increasing interest in an illustrious innovation called Vue.js , which in 2020 even led the ranking of the most used web frameworks, according to a survey by the medium-sized technology platform.
Another platform that demonstrates very similar data is Stack Overflow . For its part, React leads among the most used web frameworks, with 35.9% of custom software development company using it. Angular has 25.1% usage, while Vue.js is used by 17.3% of developers.
To help you decide which solution is best for you, I compare these three web development frameworks here based on some key development criteria: architecture, data binding, mobile solutions, learnability, syntax, integration, performance, and ecosystem.
But first of all, let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of each of the three.
Angular
It was developed in 2009 by Google and is known as a JavaScript framework and it has Ionic framework for mobile applications. The big disadvantage is that the entire tree structure of HTML tags is updated, which greatly affects loading time.
Advantages of Angular
It has good performance and maintainability. Additionally, it is reliable, manages projects without additional libraries, and remains a software development services with easy end-to-end testing.
Disadvantages of Angular
It always reloads the entire HTML tag tree structure, while being relatively rigid and inflexible, needs some training to use, and is not always supported by outdated or unknown browsers.
React
It was developed in March 2013 by Facebook as a JavaScript library where you resolve the model and controller, making it easier to manipulate the project. React compares the previous HTML code differences and only loads different parts, which reduces times. It also has the mobile solution for apps called React-Native.
Advantages
It has fast loading of new data, can create markup and logic (JSX), allows data separation and presentation, is simple, without many presets, and does not require much training.
Disadvantages
It's just a JavaScript library, so there is no complete framework. On the other hand, there is no possibility to implement the MVC architecture and it is only worth using if your web applications need to be highly interactive.
Vue.js
Vue.js is a JavaScript-based framework for creating single-page applications. It has scalability and incrementality, and is easy to integrate with other layer view frameworks. Its learning curve is quite fast and it is a flexible framework that can be used as a library or as a complete framework to develop large custom software development services in a minimalist way.
Advantages
It has a list of tools and libraries, as well as simple and flexible usage, complete documentation, and it is even possible to add various reactive components to existing code.
Disadvantages
Community sharing experiences are still limited compared to the other frameworks mentioned. The number of plugins available is also limited and presents some flexibility complications.
That's how they are
So let's get straight to the point? Let's look at the main similarities and differences between them and when to choose to use each one.
Architecture : The architectural similarity between them that can be highlighted is that all three are complete frameworks, which are capable of being used in simple and complex projects. As for the differences, we consider that Angular is a framework that offers all the possibilities of out-of-the-box programming, while React is a library that only offers the view, leaving it to the developer to decide how to build the Model and Controller. Finally, Vue.js is a library that allows you to create interactive web interfaces, mainly related to the ViewModel layer of the architecture.
Data Binding : In data binding, Angular and Vue.js are similar in that they are both bidirectional i.e. the interface element changes as the state of the model changes. However, they are nothing like React , which has a one-way binding where first the model state is updated and then reflects the change of the interface element.
As a solution used for Mobile Applications : Regarding its use for the creation of mobile applications, basically the only similarity is that the three frameworks presented offer solutions for the development of mobile applications, but they are very different solutions. Angular uses the solution called Ionic framework, which makes use of the Cordova container, while React has its own solution called React-Native, a platform for creating real native mobile applications. Additionally, Vue.js supports the Weex project, a framework that allows the development of browser components as well as iOS and Android applications using the same syntax.
Ease of Learning : They are not similar here, and it is a fact that each of the mentioned frameworks has its own learning curve. However, there is a difference, which is the level of each one, with Vue.js being the easiest, React the intermediate and Angular the most complex.
Starting with Vue.js , it can be considered the easiest to learn, since the fundamental features can be implemented in the first web applications and in the shortest possible time. It is even simpler to understand than the other two, as it is more adaptable.
In the case of React , although it is required to learn JSX first, this is not a problem since it is quite simple. When passing this step, you have to go through learning the routing library ( react-router ) and then through the state management libraries ( Redux ou MobX ). With that you will be well familiar with the framework.
Lastly, we have Angular , and not without reasons. There are many more steps to take and information to learn. Some basic terms that we can cite and that are part of the learning curve are: directives and modules, components and services, dependency entries, pipes and templates .
Syntax : Here again they are not similar to each other and it is a fact that each of the above mentioned frameworks is written in a specific syntax.
Angular is written in TypeScript, a more complex language, so working with this framework takes some time. React , as already mentioned, uses JSX, so native JavaScript developers are familiar with it. Vue.js , in turn, uses a (valid) HTML-based syntax that allows binding the displayed DOM to the data of the base element instance.
Possibility of Integration : When it comes to integration, Angular and Vue.js have the similarity of having a complete structure and not needing additional libraries, while React is generally not enough to create a complete web application on its own, but has a greater adaptability and is simpler to integrate. a mobile platform.
Performance : Generally speaking, the biggest similarity is that the performance and quality of all three frameworks is excellent. The difference is the way each framework works with the visualization of changes in projects.
Angular creates an inspector for each link that compares the new values with the old values, generating more computer usage. React , in turn, uses a virtual DOM (rendering), which the moment the view is modified, the new DOM compares it with the virtual DOM and changes accordingly. Vue.js works best thanks to the lightweight virtual DOM that maintains its speed and versatility, allowing it to achieve slightly better performance than the competition.
General ecosystem : In this sense, they all have only similarities. The three frameworks discussed in this article are open source and provide developers with various tools and libraries and, thanks to the global community, there are still a large number of extensions for Angular , React and Vue.js that can be used to make it more easy to start a project, in the development of applications and even to improve design issues.
We come to the final question: which is better?
The answer that most applies is this: it depends on what you need, what the purpose of your project is, and what you like to work on .
Angular absolutely offers a complete and feature-rich framework that allows the development team to deploy the project quickly without the need to look for additional libraries. It simply provides everything you need from development to testing while building a web application. However, it is often too heavy for small projects.
Regarding React , we can say that it is considered by many as the “king of the visual area”, being recommended for projects with intense Front-end results. It also has stronger server-side rendering support with a very easy-to-use library. Its main problem is that it usually needs good alignment between development teams because it does not have clearly defined structures.
Last but not least, Vue.js can be used for a wide range of applications, being the most versatile of the three. It provides a good solution for virtually all types of projects due to its compatibility with other JavaScript frameworks and its ability to add more complicated logic to existing programs. Its main problem is that it still does not have a global community as large as the other two sharing experiences, which can make searching on the Internet difficult or impact the resolution of problems that appear.
Sign in to leave a comment.