Node vs Angular.js: A Detailed Comparison

Over the past few years, Javascript has made its headway from being simply client-side scripting language to emerging as a powerful programming language. In this blog, we will be comparing two of the most important Javascript- Angular.js and Node.js and discover the differences between the two.

Web development technologies have evolved drastically in the past few years. The technologies which were trending a few years back have now become obsolete. For instance, technologies such as Node and Angular.js are opted worldwide for web development currently.

According to the recent survey by Stack Overflow, both Angular and Node.js are widely used languages for web development.

In fact, Javascript has acquired 1st position as the most preferred language by the professional developer in 2018 as well as 2019. And, that is the reason behind the growing popularity of Angular and Node.js.

Javascript is everywhere, from mobile, desktop, server-side, IoT, AR/VR. Javascript has dominated web development to such an extent that you are left with no choice than to Javascript in your web development project.

Let’s now compare Javascript’s two most popular frameworks i.e. Node.js and Angular.

What is Node.js?

Node.js is an open-source server framework that runs on a plethora of platforms such as Mac OS X, Windows, Linux and Unix.

Node.js is built on Google Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine and constitutes features like a non-blocking I/O and event-driven model, which makes it lightweight and efficient. Node.js makes the best framework for data-intensive, scalable and server-side web applications.

Here are the key features of Node.js framework:

• Open Source: Node.js is free of cost and open-source for anyone to download and use.
• Enhanced Performance: Node.js developers are free to perform non-blocking operations, which boost the performance of web applications.
• Unit Testing: Node.js has a significant unit testing called Jasmine with which developers can test written code without much effort.
• Scalability: You can scale Node.js application both horizontally and vertically, which aids in improvising the performance.

What is Angular.js?

Launched by Google in 2009, Angular is an open-source, client-side framework. Angular.js is mainly used for building single-page applications and also applications that constitute separate functional layers.

One of the biggest advantages of using Angular is that it binds that utilizing Expressions. Furthermore, it extends HTML attributes with Directives, which in turn, help developers to add dynamic views to web apps.

Angular.js acquires 2nd position among top JavaScript framework and the main reason behind it is its Model-View-Controller architecture,

The MWC architecture of Angular enables a developer to build interactive and data-driven web applications, which makes it the most preferred Javascript framework.

Here are the key features of Angular.js:

• MVC (Model-View-Controller) framework: Angular is integrated with easy-to-use and dynamic MVC framework, which makes it easier for Angular developers to build a client-side web application.
• Plain-Old-Javascript-Objects model: Plain-Old-Javascript-Objects are highly self-sufficient if we consider functionality. POJO model easily offers well-organized logics and objects.
• Model-View-Whatever architecture: Angular also comprises of MVW architecture, which remodels and manipulates DOM to update behavior and data.
• Easy-to-use: Angular has also got the benefit of easily decoupling the DOM manipulation from a logic app, which further makes it easy to use the Javascript framework.

Difference Between Node.js and Angular.js

As you have read above, various aspects show the differences in Node.js and Angular. Both Node.js and Angular have got their set of benefits for web application development.

Here is the comparison of both these Javascript platforms:

1. Basics:

The Angular framework is designed to create structured applications for both mobile and desktop platforms. In addition to this, Angular is an ideal framework for building dynamic web applications.

Node.js framework is designed for building web servers and web applications that can be scaled depending upon the future needs.

2. Installation & Deployment:

Angular developers do not need to install the framework on their systems. The developer can directly embed the Angular framework in code just like other Javascript files.

In Node.js, developers can write code in Javascript, however since Node.js has a run-time environment, the developers must install Node.js in their system to create the needed development environment.

3. Core Architecture;

Angular is written completely in Javascript. Moreover, it even follows all Javascript syntax rules.

On the other hand, Node.js framework was created as a run-time environment on Google’s V8 Javascript Engine. A number of programming languages such as C, C++ and Javascript were used to create it.

4. Programming Language:

Both Angular and Node support a wide range of programming languages.

Angular supports Typescript, Dart, CoffeeScript, in addition to JavaScript. On the other hand, Node.js supports Typescript, Ruby, CoffeeScript, along with JavaScript.

And as paradigms are concerned, Angular supports functional, event-driven and object-oriented programming paradigms. In contrast to this, Node.js supports event-driven, functional, sub programming and concurrency-oriented paradigms.

5. Use cases:

Angular allows developers to build interactive, client-side web applications, which is why the framework is used by developers all around the globe today.

Node.js, on the other hand, is mainly used by Javascript developers to create highly scalable and fast server-side applications.

In a nutshell

Angular is a client-side framework and Node.js is a run-time environment.

This means that you can create exceptional isomorphic applications by integrating Angular and Node.js framework. In fact, both of these frameworks can be combined for the Mean Stack Development. Though this process is a bit tricky and you require professional Node.js and Angular developer to ensure that integration is done in the right way.

Originally published at https://graffersid.com on February 13, 2020.