Vue.js vs Angular: what is the better frontend framework?

Vue.js vs Angular: what is the better frontend framework?

Introduction

Developers are often stumped when it comes to choosing the right development framework for their web development projects. Choosing the right front-end framework is a very critical task that will define the outcome and the success. There are a lot of factors to consider when you are choosing a framework, like the size and complexity of the project and your team’s experience. Of the many frameworks that are available to developers Vue and Angular are very popular among them because of their many advantages. 

And so you might be confused about which one to choose because each one of them comes equipped with game-changing features. Every project manager asks this question to himself before initiating the discussion of a project – “which framework should I choose, and what tools and technologies do I need?” 

Why choose between Vue and Angular?

c They both follow MVC or Model-View-Controller architectures and have well-structured codes. 

Both have two-way data binding, making it easier for developers because when they make any changes to one part of the application, it will automatically be reflected in other parts of the application too. The large and active community of both Vue and Angular is another advantage for both. Developers have access to plenty of resources to ace their knowledge and skills. 

Which one to choose for your project?

Until a few years back, the competition was between Angular and React, and then there came a third party into the debate, and that’s Vue.js. Before going into it, let’s remind you that both have different libraries featuring different features and learning curves. Vue is perfect for less experienced developers, while Angular is perfect for large, complex, and enterprise-level apps. And yet, there is stiff competition between the two

Interestingly, Vue was developed by a developer, Evan You in 2014 who once worked for Google and Angular. This makes it a much younger framework when compared to Angular, which was released in 2010. 

The learning curve for Vue is far simpler because it offers excellent customizability. It is easy to transition to Vue if you have been working with Angular. Vue has an overlap with Angular and React when it comes to functionalities, like component usage, for instance. Vue is simple and flexible, which is a double-edged sword because less experienced developers are likely to use the framework, and this might lead to poor code, making it difficult to debug and test.

Angular

Angular is the open-source web application framework maintained by a team of developers within the company. It is known for its vast functionality and high performance. 

Vue

Vue is a progressive open-source front-end JS framework, known for its elegant designs and clean script architecture. Inspired by Angular, you can expect the framework to be an easier version of Angular. 

The parameters to consider for Angular and Vue

Performance

Angular – Is bulkier than Vue, and could be slower at the startup. It performs much better in DOM manipulation. With Angular, the code has to be rendered fully on the server side before it can be downloaded and run in the browser/app. 

Vue – Performance in memory allocation is better. Vue is faster than Angular, making it possible to do the rendering for only those components that have been changed. This significantly improves application performance, making it a popular choice over Angular.

Components & Extensibility

Angular – It has a very clearly designed app architecture, making it most suitable for huge applications. That’s why Angular is just perfect for large-scale enterprises. Several developers prefer to use Angular because its common architecture is very useful.

Vue – Isn’t very structured, but then developers can enjoy a lot of flexibility with the framework. They can easily customise the application as they want, using HTML or Javascript files. 

Ecosystem

Angular – The ecosystem of the framework helps the community of developers understand the inner workings of a framework and use it in the best manner. Angular has built-in solutions and very thorough documentation. And because it is older it has garnered a very extensive professional community over the years. 

Vue – Vue has a very committed developer team and allows the usage of third-party add-ons. It is scalable, and the architecture is lightweight.

Adaptability

Angular – This is an all-in-one framework, meaning it comes with a comprehensive set of tools and options and acts as a guiding light throughout the development process. The structured approach of the framework enables Angular to act like a meticulous guide and planner that opens out the whole work plan, from start to finish.

Vue – This framework lets you use what you need from it, making it possible for you to adapt it to your project, without the complete thing. The progressiveness and adaptability of the project make it a great option for developers who like to make their work plans.

Testing & debugging

Angular – Scores higher than Vue when it comes to testing, thanks to its excellent testing methodology. You can use tools like Jasmine and Karma for testing the development codes separately. Developers love that they can develop a project from scratch and test its components seamlessly. Angular’s Unit Testing enables dependency injection for testing, and this injects mock/dummy data into the controller. Developers can analyse the behaviour in this manner. And to make it even more effective, there are mock HTTP providers that will give fake responses from the servers.

Vue – The testing rules are insufficient, and there aren’t any elaborate tools for Vue. However, the testing abilities are straightforward and efficient. The unit testing feature of Vue typically uses Chai, Jest, and Mocha, pretty much like other frameworks. Vue offers libraries like Vue Test Utils and Vue Testing Library making it easy to do debugging and code debugging, thanks to their user-specific APIs and access to the application. Developers can make use of faster feedback loops, make use of hit reloading features and allow continuous integration and continuous delivery/deployment. etc. 

Conclusion – What do you make of the two?

So when it boils down to whether you should use Angular or Vue, remember Angular is the preferred front-end framework for complex and large enterprise applications. Giants like Paypa, Forbes, Gamil, etc have used Angular because of its capability to create dynamic app interfaces, and reusable codes making it possible to build applications for multiple platforms, limitless possibilities for scalability, and so on. 

Don’t turn to Vue if you want to develop complicated applications because it is not configured for it. It is very difficult to standardise the order of components if you are looking for a code that can interlink the multiple components. However, developers can use Vuex, Vue’s state management library to develop complex apps. This is specifically tuned to make the development of complex applications easier.

Interesting Links:

In 2024, which framework should you choose—Angular or Vue?

Angular vs Vue: Core Differences

Pictures: Canva

The author: Sascha Thattil works at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.