An Introduction to AngularJS

AngularJS can be described as a widely used, open source, structured JavaScript framework that is maintained by Google. Along with being written in JavaScript, the library is also distributed as a JavaScript file. So the web programmers can simply use the <script> tag to add AngularJS to any web page.



At the same time, they also have option to use the framework with a wide range of technologies. Further, it handles JavaScript code automatically according to the type and version of the web browser. That is why; AngularJS makes it easier for developers to create rich internet applications compatible across different web browsers.

Important AngularJS Features to Create Awesome Web Applications

Modules: The developers can use AngularJS modules to divide the web application into small and functional components. The components can be reused and integrated with other internet apps. Each module needs to have a unique name. The developers can define a variety of components inside the module including controllers, filters, directives and services.

Directives: The programmers also have option to extend the HTML vocabulary by using AngularJS directives. Along with adding new behavior to HTML elements, the directives can also be used to manipulate their attributes. The developers can further create custom directives, along with using ng-model, ng-controller, ng-repeat, ng-app and other built-in directives.

Model, View and Controller (MVC): Despite being a MVC web development framework, AngularJS supports the development paradigm in an innovative way. As plan JavaScript objects, models represent the data used by the web application. The controller contains the business logic for the view, and hence controls the application’s behavior. On the other hand, view displays and presents the model data to end users. Thus, the framework simplifies development of large and complex applications by allowing programmers to keep the business logic and presentation separate.

Templates: Despite being plain HTML, the AngularJS templates contain specific attributes and elements. For instance, developers can define filters, form controls, directive, angular markup and similar angular elements and attributes in the Angular templates. These templates can be further used to display information from the view and controller.

Scope: As an object, scope acts as glue between view and controller, while referring to the application model. The scopes follow the AngularJS application’s DOM structure, while being hierarchical in nature. However, each AngularJS application can have a single scope ($rootscope) that needs to be mapped to the ng-app directive element. Scope is used frequently by web developers as a context to evaluate expressions.

Validations: AngularJS enables developers to create interactive and responsive HTML5 forms by using validations. It allows programmers to use a number of built-in validation directives. The validation directives are designed based on HTML5 form validators, and can be used to validate forms efficiently. The programmers can further create custom validation directives.

Filters: Before displaying the data to the end-users, the application needs to format the data. AngularJS filters are used to format the data before being displayed to users. The framework allows developers to create custom filters, along with using a set of built-in filers like date, number, currency, lowercase, uppercase and orderby.

Services: AngularJS services can be defined as singleton objects that can be used by programmers to organize, share and reuse code across the web app. The services can be injected into filters, directives and controls. The framework provides a set of built-in services like $http, $window, $parse, $provide, and $resource, while allowing programmers to create custom services.

As it is a JavaScript framework, AngularJS lacks the server side authentication and validation features. So it cannot be used individually to create secure internet applications. Further, the code written in AngularJS will become ineffective if the user disable JavaScript. This would help you leverage the benefits ofJavaScript programming.

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