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ecently, The Frontend Company team published one of our most popular blog posts on Angular.JS. The article was about the idea that this framework is outdated and will soon disappear, and business owners need to consider migration. However, some of them have problems with choosing the right technology. So today, we share a list of hot AngularJS alternatives.

Not to endlessly repeat the same thoughts, we recommend reading a few of our articles on this front-end framework. For example, you can find interesting posts «Is AngularJS dead?», «Reasons for migration», and «Angular.js and Angular 2+ performance comparison». Next, we discuss the most successful AngularJS alternatives for different web projects. As usual, besides a brief history of the tool, we will look at the strengths and weaknesses of each technology.

Angular 2+

When it comes to AngularJS alternatives, this technology is the first one that springs to mind. Well, it's pretty reasonable. Angular appeared in 2016 but was initially planned as a new version of Angular.js. While working on the new front-end framework, the Google development team engaged building the new tool discovered the incompatibility of these two technologies.

Since developers created AngularJS based on JavaScript, Angular 2 was completely non-compatible with it. The new framework was based on the TypeScript programming language, and the working principle of these tools turned out to be the opposite. The instruments went their own way and grew independently at that turning point.

Despite the financial resources, it became unprofitable for Google to develop two tools at once. One of them had to be abandoned. For this reason, in 2018, the JavaScript-based framework was moved to the long-term support period. Angular 2 turned out to be an order of magnitude better than its forerunner and better suited to the needs of web projects.

Strengths

  1. This tool was built with a trusted programming language. TypeScript is one of the top 10 most used languages among devs globally. The advantage of TS is annotating types, and checking their consistency during compilation. It is incredibly convenient.
  2. Unlike other AngularJS alternatives, this one has a much more strict structure. It is done to avoid critical errors in the web application's architecture. The coders' freedom with more flexible tools often leads to critical mistakes in the later stages of development.
  3. You can create a friendly UI with this tool. Many solutions are provided here to design a nice UI for a project of any complexity.
  4. In Angular 2+, there is a separation of business logic, which also greatly simplifies the interaction with the framework for programmers.
  5. The finished project is fast, easily scalable, and maintainable. Many coders praise the CLI and consider it one of the best in its category.
  6. Due to its architecture, this AngularJS alternative makes it easy to break modules into separate files and then bring them together when needed.
  7. Thanks to Dependency Injection, objects remain passive and don't take any part in finding out dependencies (objects stay passive). Instead of an object, this is done by the so-called setter, through which these dependencies are introduced. The argument constructor can also perform this function.
  8. The technology has strong support from Google, a large community, and relatively few bugs. Unlike some other AngularJS alternatives, which we will discuss later, this is a great strength.

Weaknesses

  1. Angular 2+ is an overcomplicated technology that a beginner does not quickly learn. On top of that, you will have to know some other technologies to use Angular seamlessly.
  2. In contrast to other AngularJS technologies, you might have difficulties with linting tools and testing the CLI with other instruments. This technology is closed to third-party tools.
  3. This framework has a long initialization time, and due to the structure, you need to keep in mind the large file size.

React

If we talk about AngularJS alternatives, ReactJS is also one of the first to be mentioned. For a good reason. This framework holds the leading position in the category of the most used among software developers. According to a study by Statista, it is used by 40,14% of experts. At the same time, Angular is used almost twice less (22,96%).

Why is React JS better than AngularJS? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The front-end technology has too many advantages over Angular 1.

To begin with, React is a JavaScript library. That gives the tool incredible flexibility and does not limit coders in the process. Unlike other frameworks, this alternative to AngularJS has an unbelievable number of add-ons. They allow you to create great user interfaces easily.

It should be continued that React.js is younger than Google's technology. Meta (Facebook) introduced the tool to the public in late May 2013 and has been releasing official updates regularly since then. It is difficult for technology to compete with such a competitor in the long-term support stage.

Strengths

  1. React technology was built using the JavaScript programming language, which is among the most secure and productive. It opens up more possibilities for developers for UI/UX.
  2. Since this JS library uses a virtual DOM, programmers don't have to update the tag tree regularly. The tool can update only those parts of the code where changes have been made.
  3. Compared to some other AngularJS alternatives, ReactJS is suitable for many industries. You can utilize it to build web applications for e-commerce, automotive, media, etc.
  4. Due to its more flexible structure, developers have the ability to reuse the code. Thanks to this, they do not have to rewrite some parts of the source code, and the development process is greatly speeded up.
  5. The architecture of this tool is great for creating large web projects. Developers can quickly scale a web product, add its functionality, etc. The JS capabilities of the library are well prepared for such manipulations.
  6. Since this front-end technology is among the most popular in the world, the React.js community is huge. You won't have any trouble finding a qualified team member. The only exception will be when you want to expand your team with niche-experienced developers. In that case, it will take longer to find the right person.
  7. If you decide to create a mobile app on React Native, your development team will have no difficulty figuring out the mobile framework. It is a significant advantage of ReactJS.
  8. The projects built with this technology have outstanding performance and work quickly on different types of desktop devices.

Weaknesses

  1. Since this instrument has a less strict architecture, you will have to pay more attention to the organization of the code. If you do not think carefully about the web application architecture, such an oversight can lead to problems in the future.
  2. Another weakness of this tool and some other AngularJS alternatives is that you will have to learn several related tools. 
  3. Although coders can learn React quickly, they may be confused at first when interacting with the technology.

Inferno JS

Inferno JS is one of the youngest AngularJS alternatives. This tool appeared in 2017 and was developed by programmer Dominic Gannaway. The Frontend Company team decided to include this technology after React in this top list for two reasons. First, Gannaway is an employee of Facebook (Meta). Now, if you believe Dominic's LinkedIn profile, he's still part of the React development team.

Second, Inferno is a fast and efficient React-like JavaScript library. The main goal of this Angular alternative is to create user-friendly, thoughtful, and straightforward UIs.

Inferno JS was originally conceived as an experimental project. The creators were curious if this tool could improve the UX component of mobile applications and the performance of finished products. The main idea behind this technology was to keep improving the performance and exploring new methods to enhance projects. 

This instrument is not widespread in the world, or a deafening success of the first version of Angular. Nevertheless, the technology has gathered 15 000 stars on GitHub. It's an excellent indicator for a solution like this so far.

Strengths

  1. The technology catches programmers' attention because of its lightweight and capabilities for creating user interfaces. Due to its low weight and high performance, Inferno is rightfully considered one of the best AngularJS tools.
  2. This tool is suitable for creating web projects and for writing mobile apps. There is a clear parallel between React and React Native. That is why Inferno JS is often called a React-like solution.
  3. Here you can find internal objects for optimization, which greatly speeds up the JS library. Inferno is one of the best options if you need something as reactive performance-wise.
  4. When working with this instrument, coders can use popular state management libraries (MobX, Redux, Cerebral JS). There is also support for hyperscript.
  5. Unlike popular opinion, this AngularJS alternative does not shadow the patterns of ReactJS. In this technology, the creators have implemented several unique methods. 
  6. Inferno JS supports third-party tools and add-ons that help with server-side rendering or routing.

Weaknesses

  1. Do you remember how we mentioned React above and the constant comparisons of Inferno with this technology? Well, before using ReactJS components, a developer has to write those same components first. Therefore, if you were hoping to use this trick, sadly, it won't work.
  2. In contrast to other AngularJS tools in this list, this one has not yet acquired a large and strong community. The dynamics of gaining popularity are positive, but we cannot mention global spreading.
  3. The authors of this technology had to compromise some features to keep the technology compact. That is why annotations and suspense are missing here.
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PHP

PHP, or as this scripting language was formerly known as Personal Home Page, was launched in 1995. Its developer is Rasmus Lerdorf, who later in the company of other programmers to improve PHP. The early task of this tool was to create personal web pages. It is from here was taken the original technology deciphering, as Personal Home Page.

Later, other features were added to the basic functionality of the scripting language.  After a few years, such a tool began to build web applications, services, and websites. Despite the age of this front-end tool, most providers still support PHP, and it is among the popular solutions on the market for the development of dynamic websites.

In the 2020s, you can read about updates to the tool on Rasmus Lerdorf's Twitter or his personal blog. Although to be fair, most of the news about the technology appears on the official website or PHP's Twitter.

Strengths

  1. PHP has a lot of add-ons and built-in features to create functional websites and applications. The most popular solutions are automated HTTP headers, session handling, and cookies, interaction with many modules (like MySQL, SQLite, OCI8).
  2. This AngularJS alternative is part of the popular LAMP stack. It stands for Linux (L), Apache (A), MySQL (M), PHP (P). It's like a MEAN stack, only with different software. Why is it important? Having a tech stack shows that the creators support the tool and continue to evolve.
  3. New versions are regularly released for this instrument. The last official release of version 8 of PHP was on November 25, 2021. Even though it is one of the oldest AngularJS alternatives on our list, it is still relevant to use.
  4. Other advantages of PHP include its support from many developers. You will not have a problem finding a qualified specialist to help with product development.
  5. This tool is open source, and you do not have to pay for it. Moreover, the technology helps you create a product with minimum bugs and fast deployment.

Weaknesses

  1. Like other AngularJS alternatives, PHP also has disadvantages. One such minus is the security issues. Anyone can view the ASCII text file, so you have to use additional tools or drop PHP in favour of other solutions.
  2. In spite of its long history, the tool has many weaknesses. You will have to look for a programmer with years of practical experience who can prevent and quickly fix errors.
  3. Although the technology is considered quite flexible, you will not change its core. Due to the specifics of the architecture, it will be impossible to modify the body of a website or web application. In case of critical errors or restructuring, you will have to migrate to another platform or rewrite the code practically from scratch.

Mithril

Mithril is the second AngularJS alternatives on this list to be categorized as React-like. However, The Frontend Company team does not entirely agree with this. Regardless of many similarities, all JS-based technologies, without exception, can be alternatives to each other. That is why Mithril.js was included in the list of AngularJS alternatives rather than ReactJS alternatives.

This technology has not existed for a long time, so it is considered a young tool on the market. However, its GitHub has 13 000 stars from developers. For a low prevalence technology, that's a significant number.

This client-side JavaScript framework doesn't have a single author. A group of programmers from different countries is involved in the development. If you're interested, you can see a list of the people involved in making Mithril on the official tool's website.

The unique feature of this tool is its pragmatism. According to the creators, you will need no more than half an hour to study the application's logic, its components, XHR, routing, etc. Some programmers believe that the capabilities of Mithril.js are enough to develop SPAs and small scripts. It also contributes to the spread of this solution among specialists.

Strengths

  1. Because of its structure, Mithril is perfect for developing Single-Page Apps (SPAs).
  2. This tool is very easy to understand and learn, unlike some other AngularJS alternatives. Experienced devs can effortlessly work with it.
  3. Templates are first compiled in this framework and then sent to the browser. Due to this feature, the loading speed of the instrument is really fast.
  4. Here, components are created using the view property, which is obligatory, and the controller function, which is not obligatory. By separating the data layer, Mithril.js is extremely quick and easy to handle.
  5. Web products created with this framework are simple to test on any JS engine.

Weaknesses

  1. The main disadvantage of Mithril.js lies in that this tool is not very popular. It will not be easy for you to find a person to handle the technology and solve various development tasks.
  2. Since this framework structure is too pragmatic, coders will have to use additional JS-based tooling. Other AngularJS frameworks are complete and autonomous. Using other frameworks will surely bring extra development time and unforeseen budget costs.

That's the end of the list of actual AngularJS alternatives. If you want a web project with a superior user interface and opportunities for product growth, each of the above technologies is great for you. They are all written in JavaScript, have their benefits, and are aligned with current front-end development trends.


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Posted 
December 7, 2021
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