Javascript is the only language that can truly claim monopoly when it comes to front-end programming. That is not the case with Javascript frameworks, though, and choosing among them is made even more challenging by the fact that JS has over 83 libraries and 24 frameworks, each with its own set of features. Angular, React, and Vue are the three most widely used JavaScript frameworks, with the remaining frameworks being far behind.
The main difference between these, though, is that Vue is a progressive framework, React is a UI library, and Angular is a complete front-end framework.
This blog aims to clarify the differences between libraries and frameworks, as well as the requirements and diverse functionalities of angular vs react vs vue. It also provides guidance on which framework would be most appropriate for your organization.
Introducing The Frameworks
A software framework is a segment of code that, regardless of the application in which it is used, accomplishes a specific task. By utilizing the framework, the programmer can add a few extra lines to tailor the capability to fit the needs of the application he is working on, saving him from having to build the functionality's code from the start. The utilization of frameworks promotes code reuse, guarantees rapid application development, and facilitates program debugging.
What is a Library?
A library is a collection of previously written code by another programmer that can be lawfully used by others to create their programs. The process is sped up and the code structure is substantially enhanced by this code reuse.
Let's use the example of a bakery to explain what a library is:
Think of a bakery that makes a variety of cakes. Instead of making every ingredient from scratch, the baker uses pre-made ingredients like flour, sugar, and baking powder, which are bought from the store. These ingredients are essential and have already been prepared to a certain standard. The baker then combines these ingredients in different ways, adds some unique touches, and bakes the cakes.
In the same way, programmers use libraries when building software applications. A library is like a pre-made ingredient that provides a set of pre-written functions or routines to perform common tasks. Instead of writing all these functions from scratch, programmers use libraries to save time and effort, just like the baker uses pre-made ingredients. They then combine these libraries, add some custom code, and create a unique software application.
Difference Between a Framework and a Library
The main difference between libraries and frameworks is how the application is controlled. When it comes to a library, you have complete control. You put the library into use when and where it is needed. In contrast, a framework lets you customize it by adding small bits of code here and there, but it will ultimately determine whether or not to use all of your code.
This blog will discuss a library and two frameworks:
- Google developed the framework known as Angular JS in 2010.
- Facebook developed a package called React JS in 2013.
- Evan You, a Google engineer, developed the Vue JS framework, which is the reason why Vue has all of Angular's powerful capabilities built right in.
While each framework and library has its own functionality and use case, we try to clarify in this blog the specific benefits, drawbacks, and functionalities of each from a business perspective.
History of React, Angular, and Vue
We'll compare three of the most popular and valued front-end frameworks: React.js, Angular, and Vue.js. These are a few of the most widely used frameworks that allow programmers to create complex and modern web user interfaces. Let's review their history in brief.
React:
Developed by Facebook in 2013, React is an open-source JavaScript library that the company uses internally. Big businesses like Microsoft, Asana, Airbnb, Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Instagram, Slack, and more use React.
Angular:
Google created Angular in 2010. It's important to remember that Angular is a JavaScript framework built on TypeScript. Google introduced Angular2, a significant change, in 2016.
Vue:
The youngest of the three, Vue is also referred to as Vue.js. It was created in 2014 by Evan You, a former Google employee, and its use has grown in the last several years. Even though it's not as well-known as React, big businesses like 9Gag, Alibaba, and Gitlab still utilize it.
Benefits and Limitations of React, Angular and Vue
Choosing technologies for frameworks might be difficult. It's important to remember that there isn't a perfect framework. Each of the three has advantages and disadvantages; ultimately, you have to decide which one best fits you.
Several factors should be taken into account when selecting your framework. Having said that, let's get started!
React
Benefits
- Since it is lightweight and uses a syntax that mixes HTML and JavaScript, it is simple to learn and gives a JS design. For beginners, React also provides excellent documentation, which is something to think about.
- React's Virtual DOM implementation and rendering optimizations make it quick.
- Excellent support for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), particularly with its create-react-app template generator.
- React uses components to create functional programming, allowing for reuse code and the creation of modularized designs. This facilitates the development and scalability of complicated infrastructure by making programs easier to maintain and expand upon.
Limitations
- Since React is such an agnostic technology, developers are forced to choose their own designs.
- It can occasionally be challenging to stay up to date with the most recent documentation because React technology is always evolving.
- Although React has many advantages, some novice developers may find it difficult to grasp because it employs JSX.
Angular
Benefits
- TypeScript, which is used by Angular, has excellent support for external tooling and type checking.
- Since Google supports Angular, it has the support of a reputable company. It is a trustworthy framework to learn because they have a sizable community and extensive documentation.
- You can expedite your work by using Angular-language-service's autocomplete feature inside external HTML template files for components.
Limitations
- Many structures, including Pipes, Modules, Components, Injectables, and more, are available with Angular. Compared to Vue and React, which concentrate on the component, this makes learning more difficult.
- Its use of the real DOM results in slower performance; however, this can be mitigated by employing the ChangeDetectionStrategy, which aids in manual rendering process management.
Vue
Benefits
- Vue provides thorough documentation, which helps developers overcome their already modest learning curve. All you need to create robust single-page applications is an understanding of HTML and JavaScript.
- Vue is used to create more intricate web interfaces as well as single-page applications. Moreover, Vue apps harmonize with an existing infrastructure with ease and without causing any issues.
- Vue is quicker than Angular because it makes use of the virtual DOM. Additionally, Vue's minimal size allows for maximum speed and versatility, resulting in superior performance when compared to other frameworks.
Limitations
- Due to its relative newer and lower market size, Vue provides fewer resources than React and Angular. This implies a decrease in the availability of support and knowledge exchange.
Features of Vue vs React vs Angular
Each framework comes with unique features that make it suitable for different types of projects.
Angular Features
- Comprehensive Framework: Angular includes tools for routing, form handling, and state management.
- Two-Way Data Binding: Automatically syncs data between the model and view.
- TypeScript Support: Angular is built with TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript that helps catch errors early in the development process.
- Dependency Injection: Angular makes it easy to manage and inject dependencies, which helps with code organization and testing.
React Features
- Component-Based Architecture: React uses reusable components that help build complex user interfaces efficiently.
- Virtual DOM: React’s Virtual DOM improves performance by updating only parts of the web page that need to be changed.
- One-Way Data Binding: React’s one-way data binding makes the code more predictable and easier to debug.
- JSX: React uses JSX, a syntax extension that allows you to write HTML and JavaScript together, making code easier to understand.
Vue Features
- Reactivity System: Vue’s reactivity system automatically updates the DOM when data changes, making it easier to manage state.
- Component-Based Architecture: Like React, Vue uses a component-based architecture for building user interfaces.
- Two-Way Data Binding: Vue also supports two-way data binding, similar to Angular, which can make form handling more straightforward.
- Flexibility: Vue is designed to be adaptable, allowing developers to use it for both simple and complex applications.
Detailed Comparison: Angular vs React vs Vue
To choose the best framework for your business, let's dive deeper into how Angular, React, and Vue compare in several key areas.
Popularity
Popularity can be an essential factor because a popular framework usually has a larger community, more resources, and better support.
- Angular: Angular is popular for large-scale, enterprise-level applications. It is widely used in industries like finance, healthcare, and e-commerce.
- React: React is highly popular and has a vast community. It’s used by many big companies like Facebook, Instagram, and Airbnb.
- Vue: Vue has been growing in popularity, especially among small and medium-sized businesses. It’s widely used in Asia and has a strong following among developers who prefer simplicity.
Google Trends
Google Trends can show us how often each framework is searched on Google.
- React has the highest search interest, indicating its widespread use and curiosity among developers.
- Vue often comes in second, showing its growing popularity.
- Angular has a steady interest, primarily due to its use in enterprise applications.
Rendering
Rendering is how the framework displays content on the web page.
- Angular: Angular uses client-side rendering, which can make initial load times longer but is fast once loaded.
- React: React uses server-side rendering and client-side rendering, which makes the initial load faster and improves performance.
- Vue: Vue also supports server-side rendering and client-side rendering, offering flexibility in how content is displayed.
Architecture
Architecture refers to the structure of the framework and how it organizes code.
- Angular: Angular follows a Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, which separates the application into three interconnected components.
- React: React uses a component-based architecture where everything is a component. This makes code reusable and easier to manage.
- Vue: Vue also uses a component-based architecture, similar to React, but with more built-in features, like two-way data binding.
Ecosystem
The ecosystem includes the libraries, tools, and resources available for the framework.
- Angular: Angular has a complete ecosystem with everything built-in, but it can be heavy and complex.
- React: React has a vast ecosystem, but you need to choose additional libraries for tasks like routing and state management.
- Vue: Vue’s ecosystem is growing and has many tools and libraries, but it’s not as extensive as React’s or Angular’s.
Tools Used in Development
Tools help developers build, test, and debug their applications.
- Angular: Angular comes with a robust set of tools, including Angular CLI (Command Line Interface) for project setup and development.
- React: React’s primary tool is Create React App, which helps set up new projects quickly. React also works well with various third-party tools.
- Vue: Vue has a CLI for project setup and development. Vue also integrates well with other tools and libraries.
Optimization Techniques
Optimization techniques are methods used to improve the performance of web applications.
- Angular: Angular uses Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation, which compiles the application during the build process, reducing runtime errors and improving performance.
- React: React uses techniques like tree shaking and code splitting to reduce the size of the application and improve performance.
- Vue: Vue also uses tree shaking and lazy loading to optimize performance, making applications load faster.
Migrations
Migrations involve moving from one version of a framework to another.
- Angular: Angular’s migrations can be challenging due to its complexity, but Google provides detailed guides to help.
- React: React’s migrations are usually straightforward because of its focus on backward compatibility.
- Vue: Vue’s migrations are also relatively easy, with clear documentation and guidelines.
Performance and Memory
Performance and memory usage are critical for applications to run smoothly.
- Angular: Angular can be slower and use more memory because it includes many built-in features.
- React: React is fast and uses less memory because it only includes the basics and lets developers add what they need.
- Vue: Vue is lightweight and performs well, using memory efficiently for most applications.
Startup Time Comparison
Startup time is how quickly an application loads when you first open it.
- Angular: Angular’s startup time can be slower because it loads many features initially.
- React: React’s startup time is usually faster because it loads only the necessary components.
- Vue: Vue’s startup time is fast because it’s lightweight and optimized for speed.
Learning Curve
The learning curve is how easy or difficult it is to learn the framework.
- Angular: Angular has a steep learning curve due to its complexity and many features.
- React: React has a moderate learning curve, but its simplicity makes it easier to learn for most developers.
- Vue: Vue has a gentle learning curve, making it the easiest to learn among the three.
What is the Most Used JavaScript Framework?
Based on popularity, community support, and versatility, React is currently the most used JavaScript framework. It’s widely adopted by developers and companies worldwide, including many big names like Facebook, Netflix, and Airbnb. However, the choice between Angular vs React vs Vue depends on your specific needs, project size, and team expertise.
Conclusion
Choosing between Angular, React, and Vue depends on your business needs, project size, and team experience.
- If you need a comprehensive framework for a large-scale application, Angular is a great choice, especially if you prefer a complete solution with many built-in features.
- If you want a flexible and easy-to-learn library that focuses on building user interfaces, React is a fantastic option. It’s ideal for projects that require high performance and a large community.
- For those looking for a lightweight and versatile framework with a gentle learning curve, Vue is perfect. It’s great for both small and large applications and offers a balanced approach between Angular and React.
Ultimately, the best JavaScript framework for your business will depend on your project requirements, your team's skill level, and the specific features you need.
Whether you're considering react.js, vue.js or angularJs web app development in India, understanding these frameworks will help you make an informed decision.
