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Unless you’ve been avoiding the internet lately, you’ll be aware of the increasing mention of Angular 2. If nothing else, you’re probably aware of many developers’ surprise (and dismay) at just how different this new version is from its predecessor. Despite the name, Angular 2 is more revolution than evolution. Angular 2 fully embraces the web component paradigm popularized in no small part by React. It also introduces TypeScript as a first-class citizen.
For developers maintaining existing Angular 1.x applications, TypeScript is a big factor that may hinder the adoption of the new framework. Although it is possible to use ES5/6 (or even Dart), most of the available documentation and many of the community resources are centered around TypeScript (at least for now). TypeScript’s typed superset of ES6 seems to be winning over converts, even outside of the Angular 2 community. If this is something you’re interested in finding out more about, check out Byron Houwen’s recent article, [An Introduction to TypeScript: Static Typing for the Web]
(https://www.sitepoint.com/introduction-to-typescript/).
Last week saw the release of Angular 2 RC3, the penultimate release candidate before the framework officially ships. Being at the RC stage means that the API should be stable and so it’s a great time to start kicking the tires and studying up on the new framework.
If you’re comfortable with TypeScript and wish to dip your toes in the Angular 2 waters, check out today’s article by Todd Motto and Jurgen Van de Moere, where they walk through creating a basic todo list (à la Todo MVC) using the Angular CLI tool to kick-start the app and scaffold the various components.
Of course, for those thinking about upgrading from Angular 1.x at some point, moving to version 2 isn’t the only option on the table. Considering the probable effort involved in the transition, now may also be a good time to look at what other next generation frameworks are offering. With the first release candidate of the framework having just shipped, Aurelia is certainly positioning itself as an alternative, and Jedd Ahyoung recently made a feature-by-feature comparison of Aurelia to Angular 1.x.
Angular 2 does have a few aces up its sleeve, though. The framework has been redesigned to be highly independent of its runtime environment, meaning that the code you write will be able to be just as easily rendered server-side or even natively on mobile devices. It will also be possible to run applications in a Web Worker, leading to improved performance.
As always, at SitePoint we aim to keep you updated on the important trends and technologies within the JavaScript community, so expect to see more coverage of Angular 2 in the coming months. But don’t worry if you’re not a fan, as we’ll still strive to have plenty of coverage of your favorite frameworks and libraries.
If there’s something you’d especially like to see on the JavaScript channel, please leave a comment and let me know!