The new year started unexpectedly not only for our company but also for many other firms. A couple of months ago, The Frontend Company team answered the question «Is AngularJS dead?», setting the record straight for our customers and some developers. This was not enough, and the media space was again in chaos. January's news from Angular Developer Advocate Mark Thompson threw our crew some work. Now we have to explain if is Angular dead or something wrong on the internet all over again.

It sounds like an intriguing thing to say. Only to find the underlying cause of the issue, we need to understand why there was a misunderstanding in the front-end community. Further on, we'll tell you who is to blame for Angular being dead and why our Managing Partner Viktoria got more questions about project migration than usual.

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Who has killed Angular, and what's going on here?

On January 12, the Angular team announced that Angular.js support would be discontinued. For many devs, it was clear that things had been going that way since 2016. Nonetheless, the Google team could have declared that AngularJS is dead.

In our opinion, they had several reasons for that:

• in the first six years of the framework's existence, nearly 66,000 websites in the U.S. alone were running on this technology. Announcing the elimination of the JavaScript-based solution at once was tantamount to suicide. Thousands of companies would have declared war on Google, and there would have been panic;
• when Angular 2 came out, the team of creators was not yet clear how many people would like the technology. The new version of the framework also needed a testing period to debug possible flaws.

Most likely, to forestall any discontent, the Google team at first supported both solutions at the same time. It allowed the crew to hear public opinion about the new technology, fix possible weaknesses, and reassure the community as well. In 2018, Angular.js was moved to LTS (Long Term Support) mode. Now, this mode has been disabled.

How are things with the second version of the framework, then? Is Angular dead too?

No, the updates affect only AngularJS. The second technology, better known as Angular 2, continues to work effectively. Currently, officially released version 13 of this front-end framework.

Read more:

Is AngularJS dead? The most asked question of recent times

Why has our Sales Department received many emails asking «Is AngularJS dead?»

A couple of days after the announcement that Angular.js would no longer receive updates, we have received quite a few email inquiries to info@thefrontendcompany.com. Customers were interested primarily in the question «Is Angular dead?». Also, they were constantly asked what should be done with Angular-based projects.

The mid-January mailing of our experts looked something like this:

The issue from the category «Is Angular dead?» is a commonplace misunderstanding. The mix-up is due to the perception of Google frameworks as one technology.

Reasons why people get mixed up about framework versions

1. Shortening of the name of Angular.js. Experienced developers understand what version is the point of discussion from the context. But the others can be a bit confusing.
2. The difference in programming languages. Despite the efforts of Developer Advocates, not everyone understands the fundamental mismatch between technologies. The 1st version is based on JS (JavaScript), and the 2nd is built on TS (TypeScript). 

If you want to be sure about which technology it is, you need to know the main differences between frameworks by Google.

The main differences between the technologies. A short table

Comments from The Frontend Company founder and lead Angular developer Alex:

«When I hear discussions about whether is Angular dead or not, I always vote for the long life of the TypeScript-based framework. Because as long as the technology has the support of Google, many corporations and banks, the technology will thrive».

Members of The Frontend Company crew and beyond agree with Alex's opinion. Numerous devs have a similar view. Below, we share a few comments from other coders.

Source: Reddit.com

Is Angular dead? To summarize the above

Fortunately for the world, the news of Angular's death is just a misunderstanding. The technology continues to thrive and stands firmly on its feet. Fears that the framework is shutting down are only a mistake. The sad demise of its forerunner, AngularJS. So, you should no longer be tormented by the question «Is Angular dead or not?».

P.S. If your web project is still running on Angular.js, we suggest that you upgrade to a newer technology quickly. In the next year or two, the Angular team will stop supporting AngularJS-based security issues, and there will be no future for such projects. You can check out the migration details on your own or book a call.

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