Angular vs. React vs. VUE

The communication and information mission of websites has changed drastically several times in the past. While in the beginning they were simple "yellow pages" and in the glorious time of 2000 brightly coloured LSD simulations, a website is now the central communication element for companies. It is a digital business card, service overview, image channel, product catalogue, online shop, HR-tool and communication instrument.

Since websites now have to do so much, their size has naturally grown considerably. However, the larger the site, the greater the load on the server. So in order to still maintain an appealing pagespeed despite numerous functions, many applications are pushed directly into the browser. This can be done by means of a framework.

What is a framework?

A framework is a kind of digital toolbox for web developers to create single page applications in the browser. These SPAs can be, for example, interactive forms, maps, calculation widgets or complex product configurators.

The toolbox contains software collections, best practices and tools for programming a wide variety of applications. At the same time, however, the toolbox already provides concrete specifications on how the respective applications are to be built. The different strict specifications are one of the major distinguishing features between framework. Frameworks can be created in different programming languages such as JavaScript, PHP, Ruby or other languages. The best-known PHP frameworks are currently Angular, React and Vue.js, which have a lot in common but differ in relevant aspects.

What makes Angular stand out?

Angular comes from the GOOGLE forge and is based on the scripting language JavaScript, but the code basis is html. The framework is characterised by quite rigid folder structures, so the developers have little freedom to design the applications. Angular sets the direction very strictly, but at the same time this reduces the risk of faulty or awkward programming. Through the Model-View-Model (MVVM), a special design pattern and variation of the Model-View-Controller pattern (MVC), the programming logic and the template used are clearly separated in Angular. Angular can be used to design other solutions in addition to programming the user interface. Moreover, the framework no longer requires any additional modules or libraries - the construction kit is already fully equipped.

What makes React special?

As a framework, React, which comes from the Facebook group, is designed to serve only the UI, i.e. the element of an application that is actually visible to the user. In this sense, it is less a framework and more a view library. In contrast to Angular, React is much leaner and only provides the most necessary tools. Other modules have to be added via additional libraries. For example, when handling a large dataset, the Redux library is usually added. Similarly, React is less rigid in its specifications. This leads to developers being able to act very freely in programming. However, this increases the risk of errors. Due to the special feature of the Virtual DOM (Document-Object-Model), React applications run extremely fast. Instead of reloading the entire application tree in the DOM when changes are made, which is performance-intensive, the Virtual DOM observes all changes to the application tree and compares them with the live version. Only the actual changes are updated.

What is VUE?

Vue.js is a progressive JavaScript framework that acts like a combination of Angular and React. Like Angular, programming follows the MVVM pattern, but the framework is not as strict. It has declarative templates in common with Angular, while the Virtual DOM can be found in React. The framework can be used either as a rudimentary library (like React) or as a complete framework (like Angular). If only the library is used, only the UI can be edited. Unlike the other two frameworks, Vue is not backed by a global corporation like Google or Facebook, although the Vue founder used to be employed by Google. Due to the much lower level of support, it is still difficult for Vue to establish itself on the broad market. In the IT community, however, the framework is intensively discussed and seen as the missing link between Angular and React.

Which framework is the right one?

An absolute trick question, because of course it always depends on the individual requirements. Standard applications without a lot of graphical effort that have to convince with performance and stability can be developed perfectly in Angular. Graphically complex special cases such as dynamic product configurations can be implemented excellently thanks to React. For a hybrid form, Vue would be the appropriate framework. Angular has a huge community with numerous best practices and has also been used for large projects for years. React has been used successfully for years at Facebook and INSTAGRAM and convinces with a very fast performance. Vue.js still lacks a little support from outstanding projects, but should always play a role in the consideration.

Conclusion

Web development according to the toolbox principle. Developers have personal characteristics and preferences just like craftsmen. Which tool is used is almost irrelevant in the end, as long as the result fits. In the area of frameworks, this analogy is of course not completely correct, but the tendency is correct. Programmed applications not only have to work, they have to be compatible with the complete website and other services. In addition, several developers usually work on the same system, so the framework used must be known to all involved. There are many web frameworks with different specifications. Angular and React are definitely among the most popular and most widely used frameworks, and not for nothing. It will be interesting to observe if and when Vue can be named as a legitimate alternative to the other two frameworks.