Angular Beginner's Guide - Part 1

 

Welcome to Your First Step in Angular πŸš€



Are you curious about Angular but overwhelmed by all the complex terms and setup guides? Don't worry—you're in the right place! 🎯 This blog series is designed especially for beginners who want to build modern, powerful web applications using Angular.

Introduction to AngularπŸ…

Angular is an open-source web application development framework maintained by Google. It is widely used to create dynamic, single-page web applications, SPAs, and mobile applications. Angular provides the developer with a powerful toolkit that can be used to create feature-rich, scalable, high-performance applications.

 Single-Page Applications (SPAs)

SPAs are web applications that load only one HTML page and dynamically update the content of that page when events in an application occur. Unlike multi-page web applications, SPAs can be much smoother since they avoid having to reload the entire page every time a different screen is to be viewed.

Angular vs. AngularJS

AngularJS (released in 2010) was the first version of Angular, commonly referred to as Angular v1. It introduced the concept of two-way data binding and a declarative approach to building web applications. However, AngularJS had limitations in performance and scalability for modern web applications.

Angular(released in 2016) is a complete rewrite of AngularJS and is often referred to as Angular v2+. Unlike AngularJS, Angular is built with modern web technologies, such as TypeScript, and offers a component-based architecture, improved performance, and enhanced development tools.

Why Was Angular v3 Skipped

Angular’s transition from version 2 to version 4 skipped version 3 altogether. The reason lies in version mismatches across the Angular libraries during development. For example:

  @angular/core v2.3.0

  @angular/compiler v2.3.0

  @angular/compiler-cli v2.3.0

  @angular/http v2.3.0

  @angular/router v3.3.0

The router library had already progressed to version 3.x while other libraries were still in version 2.x. To avoid confusion among developers, the Angular team decided to align all library versions by jumping directly to version 4. This ensured consistency across the framework and simplified versioning.

Framework vs. Library


Why Use AngularπŸ’

πŸ‘‰Component-Based Architecture

 Encourages reusability and modular design, simplifying development and maintenance.

πŸ‘‰Fully Featured Framework

Provides everything needed to build applications, including routing, state management, forms, and more.

πŸ‘‰Unit Testing Enabled

 Built-in support for unit testing with tools like Jasmine and Karma ensures robust and reliable applications.

πŸ‘‰Developed by Google

 Maintained by Google and supported by Microsoft TypeScript, ensuring continuous updates and compatibility with modern standards.

πŸ‘‰Large Community

 A vast and active community provides extensive resources, plugins, and support for developers.

What is TypeScript

TypeScript is a programming language developed by Microsoft that builds on JavaScript by adding static typing and other advanced features. It is widely used with Angular to enhance code quality and maintainability.

Key Features of TypeScript,πŸ“

Static Typing

                                Helps catch errors during development by specifying data types.

Enhanced Tooling

 Offers autocompletion, type checking, and refactoring in modern IDEs.

Better Code Maintenance

 Makes large-scale projects easier to manage.


What is Node.js

Node.js is a runtime environment that allows developers to execute JavaScript code outside of a web browser. It uses the V8 JavaScript engine, which is the same engine used by Google Chrome, to provide fast and efficient execution.

Key Features of Node.js,πŸ“‘

JavaScript is Everywhere

Enables developers to use JavaScript for both client-side and server-side development.

Package Management

 Provides tools, such as npm (Node Package Manager), to install and manage dependencies. This includes tools like Angular CLI, which is essential for Angular development.

Non-blocking I/O

 Built on an asynchronous event-driven model, Node.js ensures high performance and scalability for real-time applications.



How to Install Angular

Step 1   Visit the Official Angular Website

To get started with Angular, the first thing you need to do is visit the official  Angular website. This site has everything you need to learn about Angular, including documentation, tutorials, and helpful guides.

Once you’ve opened the Angular.dev website, you’ll find a clean and well-organized interface.


Step 2    Navigate to the Docs tab Installation Part



2.1 Play Online

Play Online with Angular Playground allow developers to experiment with Angular directly in their browsers without any setup.

Steps

  1. Navigate to the Playground option in the Angular documentation.

  2. Click on Open on Playground to access an interactive Angular environment.

  3. This allows developers to test Angular code snippets and see results in real time, making it a quick way to explore Angular without installing anything locally.


This image shows the Angular Playground interface, where you can write and execute Angular code.

Key Features,πŸ‘‡

 Code Editor- Developers can write Angular code, such as components or modules.

 Preview Section- Displays the live output of the written Angular code.

Templates- Predefined templates (like "Hello World") to help you get started quickly.

Console and Terminal- For debugging and simulating terminal commands.

2.2 Local Installation of Angular


Steps   

        1.Prerequisites

                                                Install Node.js (v18.19.1 or newer)  to manage dependencies.

                                               Use a text editor like Visual Studio Code  for coding.

                                                Have a terminal to execute Angular CLI commands.

                                 2. Installing Angular CLI

                                               Run the command

                                                npm install -g @angular/cli

                                                               This installs the Angular CLI globally, allowing you to create and manage Angular projects.

                                3. Create a New Project

                                               Use the Angular CLI command

                                               ng new project-name

                                                               Replace ‘project-name’ with the desired name for your Angular project.


  4. Run the Application

                                               Navigate to the project directory

                                               cd project-name

                                     Start the development server:

                                                ng serve




Open a browser(ctrl+click) and go to http://localhost:4200 to view your Angular application.


Angular Project File Structure

1. src

   This folder contains the main source code of your Angular application.

app

                 This is where your application’s components, modules, and routes live. 

                                app.component.ts -The main component file containing the logic of your app. 

                                app.component.html-The HTML file defining the template (UI) of the component. 

                                app.component.css -The stylesheet to style the component. 

                               app.routes.ts -Defines the routing for your application. 

index.html

               The main HTML file that Angular injects your app into.

main.ts

     The starting point of your Angular app. It bootstraps the main application module.

styles.css

     Global styles for your app.

 

2. .gitignore

   Specifies files and folders that Git should ignore when you commit your project.

3. angular.json 

   The main configuration file for your Angular project. It contains settings for build and serve commands.

4. package.json 

   Lists all the dependencies and scripts required for your Angular project.

5. tsconfig.json

   The configuration file for the TypeScript compiler.

How to Customize Your Angular app.component.html

Remove Default Content & Add Your Own Code




That’s a wrap for Part 1 of our Angular Beginner’s Guide!πŸ‘‰ Now that you've set up your first Angular project and learned the basics, you're on your way to mastering Angular.

Stay tuned for the next part of the series, where we’ll dive deeper into Angular components, templates, and data binding! πŸš€

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