Javascript is one of the most common programming languages in the web development industry. And when there is Javascript, there are Angular Js and Node JS. Both of these JS are some of the commonly used Javascript frameworks, but they are different from each other in multiple ways. This article will show you the top 10 differences between Node Js and Angular JS.
What is Node JS?
Node js is a framework developed with JavaScript. Node JS is open-sourced, a cross-platform and runtime architecture where you can write server-side scripts. There is a wide library in node js where you will find a lot of material explaining how to use Node.js for software development. Node.js was developed on Google’s V8 JavaScript Engine and came with various features, such as a non-blocking I/O model. Node.Js is widely used for creating modern web apps that can be run on different platforms.
What is Angular JS?
Angular js is another Javascript framework that was created by Google in 2009. Google’s community of developers still manages angular, and it ranked in the 3rd position as the best web framework in 2019. A Model-View-Whatever architecture in angular helps you develop web applications with a front-end and data-driven model. Angular is mostly used for Single Page Application (SPA) developments. If you want to make angular more responsive to the user’s actions, you can extend it with HTML DOM. Angular JS Apache license version 2.0 is available for free and is like Node js, an open-sourced framework.
Even though both angular js and node js are javascript frameworks with notable similarities, they also have some differences.
How Is Node JS Different from Angular and Other JavaScript Frameworks?
The main noticeable difference between Node JS and Angular JS is that Node is used for creating server-side codes needed for back-end web applications. With angular, you can create front-end web applications.
Therefore, as you can see, both of them are different from each other in their use cases. However, Node JS is somehow more popular and preferred than angular because it allows you to develop a web application from scratch. And for that, you will have to be a Javascript expert.
Node JS is also considered to be more flexible and efficient. Those are some of the reasons why they are used in real-time app development. However, there are still so many other differences that you might want to consider if you are choosing between angular js and node js.
Node JS Vs. Angular JS – Key Differences
There are some differences between Node JS and Angular JS that create a huge impact. Here, we are going to discuss them one by one.
The Basics
It’s worth mentioning one more time that Node JS is suitable for developing web servers and back-end web apps. Angular JS is suitable for structured and front-end web apps.
The Deployment Process
If you are building Node JS web applications, then it is mandatory to install Node.js in the deployment environment. But you can embed Angular JS on the code to use it, and it does not require such an installation process.
Their Programming Languages
Originally, both Angular JS and Node JS were built on top of the JavaScript programming languages. But since technology has evolved, both of them now support different programming languages. Node JS supports CoffeeScript, Ruby, and TypeScript. Angular JS supports TypeScript, CoffeeScript, and Dart.
Their Use Cases
Angular and Node frameworks help developers create web applications. But with Node JS., you can create fast server-side apps, and with Angular JS, you can create real-time chatbot apps or streaming applications.
Their Data Use Cases
There is the Model-View-Whatever or MVW architecture in Angular JS, which works as a two-way data transaction model. When the web app is built with angular, its data is synchronized with the model and view. Still, there is no support for writing database queries in angular. In Node JS, you can write database queries, and it does not matter what kind of database you are using. That’s why when it comes to building web apps, Node JS is always the preferred choice.
Their Advantages
Node.js is an open-source, scalable, cross-platform, and runtime JavaScript development framework. It comes with a library and built-in application programming interfaces or API where you can make different types of servers. And even though Angular JS is also an open-source structural framework, it is used for additional advantages. Angular is an easy-to-use framework that you can apply for HTML to use as a template language. In addition, angular JS provides built-in filters, automatic data binding, directives, model view controller architecture, and event-driven programming paradigms.
Which One Should You Learn?
You should learn both angular js and node js frameworks because then you can choose whenever you need to apply one of them. If you are creating web applications that require frequent user interactions, then go with angular. Angular JS does not require a lot of coding practices as, well. This means that if you are not that technically sound, then Angular JS is good for you.
But Node JS is more popular than Angular JS and is also used in large organizations like Netflix, LinkedIn, Paypal, Uber, etc. Node js also has a vast online community where you will get support for your application development. If your project involves real-time teamwork, the Internet of Things, video streaming, etc., then Node JS is perfect.
Modules
In Node JS, the modules are created for networking, such as HTTP, DNS, or TCP, I/O, binary data, data streams, and other essential functions such as cryptography. But in angular, the applications are modules. There are NgModules or Angular modules integrated into web apps. An app can have modules that support bootstrapping.
Their Architectures
There are components, modules, metadata, templates, services, directives, data binding, dependency injection, etc., inside of an Angular JS architecture. And there are requests for non-blocking or blocking of users, servers, event queues, thread pools, event loops, external resources, etc., inside of a Node JS architecture.
Their Scopes
Angular JS is for client-side interactions, while developers mostly use Node JS on both server-side and client-side.
What is Model View Control Architecture in Angular Js?
The Model View Control Architecture is also known as MVC, which is an architectural model that divides an app into three elements. The three elements are model, view, and controller. Each of these elements is important in managing different aspects of a web application. MVC is one of the most used frameworks for web development. Have a look at the components of MVC:
Model
The model works with data-driven logic that the users require to use the app. These data are transmitted through View and Controller. For example, if a customer is retrieving data from the database, the model will manipulate the data and update it back to the database.
View
The view component in the MVC framework works with all the UI logic. For instance, the customer view includes the UI components such as drop-down menus, text boxes, etc. And all these components are accessed by the users.
Controller
The controller is the middle interface between the model and view. It processes incoming requests and data logic. It manipulates the data with the model element and sends it to the view element to produce the final output. For instance, the customer controller manages the interactions between the view inputs and updates the database through the model. The controller can also be helpful in viewing customer data.
On the other hand, Node JS was built on top of Chrome’s JavaScript runtime, which is how it allows you to create fast and scalable web apps. The event-driven nature of node js means it has APIs in its library, and all of them are asynchronous. Node does not wait for an API to produce data. Once the server requests data from one API, it moves to the other. And the event-driven nature of the Node retrieves a response from the last API request.
Conclusion
Both angular JS and node JS have so many similarities in common such as they are both open-sourced and are used in web application development projects. However, their architectures, models, features, advantages, data use cases, etc., are different. That’s why they are used in other use cases under different circumstances. For example, you can use angular js for single-page apps to make them more dynamic and interactive. They are best for chat services or streaming services.
Node JS, on the other hand, is better for collaborative approaches such as Google Docs, Dropbox, etc. So, before learning or using any of them, you will have to keep your project requirements into consideration.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What Is Better, Node JS Or Angular JS?
Both Node JS and Angular JS are unique. You can use angular for single-page apps and apps that have multiple functional layers. Angular was launched in 2009, and it is an open-sourced and client-side framework. Node JS is an open-sourced and scalable server-side framework that you can use on Windows, Unix, Linux, Mac OS, etc. However, since Node JS comes with an event-driven model, it is more lightweight than angular.
- Is NodeJS and AngularJS same?
No, Node JS and angular are different because they are developed by different engineers and have other functionalities. Even though both are JavaScript language frameworks, both of them have distinct features and architectures.
- Which is better Angular JS or Node JS?
If you compare the features and functions of angular js and node js, you will see that both of them are different. They are used in different scenarios and app development. But if you have to compare their attributes with each other, then Node JS is more popular because of its versatile qualities.
- Does AngularJS need NodeJS?
You won’t need Node JS to use Angular JS or vice versa. If you are building front-end apps, then you will require a client-side web browser. And if you are building back-end apps, then you will require a server-side environment. However, node js is needed for angular 2. You will have to install Node JS to build angular apps.
- Can Angular work with NodeJS?
If you want to build angular apps, then you will require either Node JS or Java. But you can also build an angular app with the static content with NGINX by accessing server codes. And for that, you will have to load the index and HTML pages with node js.