Difference between NodeJS and AngularJS

Both AngularJS and NodeJS custom web development frameworks have been designed for developing web applications with the help of JavaScript. However, both of them tend to differ on grounds of architecture and the functionalities.

What is AngularJS?

AngularJS is a type of structural framework that developers use when they need to create dynamic web applications that are more focused on the client-side of things. It’s an open source JavaScript platform, meaning it’s free to use, and was developed and is maintained by Google. AngularJS allows for a dynamic, interactive web application experience without the addition of too many extra plug-ins or outside applications. It’s considered a more front-end process of web development that aims to simplify support, development, and programming.

HTML is the primarily template language used in AngularJS and most developers use it to create single page web applications that are optimized across both desktop and mobile devices.

Angular JS primarily uses TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript. So if you’re already familiar with JavaScript, then you need not worry too much about learning a new language to use Angular since TypeScript is JavaScript plus some other added features. Developers need to have a deep understanding of prototyping, scope and various other JavaScript aspects.

Features of Angular

1. MVC

Angular community is a monolithic framework comprising three paradigms: Models, Views, and Controllers. We already know, that by combining different modules, the developers will build any kind of application. However, the developers want to build a separate component with some code and want to combine all the codes and logic. 

MVC helps the developers hereby automatically combines the logic without codes. Hence this MVC architecture is perfect for Angular JS which is also dynamic. 

2. POJO Model

POJO stands for Plain Old JavaScript Objects. This POJO model is used for analyzing data flow. Even the previous models are analyzing well, this POJO model in Angular helps developers to monitor the data flow easily. The developers will create loops and POJO helps by providing clear code to build customer-friendly applications. 

3. Templates and Filtering

Templates in Angular js helps coders to build the framework which is faster and reliable. Filters help the programmers to filter the unnecessary data before it hits the view. Filtering also performs pagination and data filtering arrays. 

Advantages of AngularJS

  • It’s open-source
  • It’s easy to use, thanks to decoupling Document Object Models (DOM) manipulation from application logic
  • It provides built-in features like filters, directives, and automatic data binding
  • It provides a smooth, dynamic Model View Control Architecture, making it easier for developers to create client-side web applications
  • It uses the Plain Old JavaScript Objects (POJO) data model, producing spontaneous and clean code, ideal for interactive, user-friendly web-based apps
  • It supports object-oriented, functional, and event-driven programming paradigms
  • It makes unit testing easy, thanks to its built-in test runner (Karma).

What is NodeJS?

NodeJS is a cross-platform, runtime environment that executes JavaScript code outside a web browser and enables JavaScript to run on the server-side as well. Applications are written by JavaScript in NodeJS. The abundant libraries available in NodeJS simplifies the web development process.

NodeJS is a runtime environment, that is, a server-side platform built on Google Chrome’s JavaScript Engine (V8 Engine). Node.js is an ideal technology for developing server-side, data-intensive, scalable web apps. One of the major benefits that NodeJS developers enjoy is that it allows them to use the same language for both their front-end and back-end needs, helping them maintain the same coding pattern all through.

Features of NodeJS

  1. Cross-Platform and Object-Oriented: Node.js is completely object-oriented and cross-platform; it helps to execute the correct structure with required dependencies. 
  2. Multiple Platform Support: Node.js helps in building Saas, service and desktop platforms. 
  3. Muti-Threaded: Node.js support multiple tasks and also it is non-blocking. 

Advantages of Node.js

  • It’s open-source
  • It’s scalable. Developers can use it either for horizontal scaling or vertical scaling
  • It supports out of the box unit testing. Developers can use any JavaScript unit testing framework to test their Node.js code
  • It features built-in application programming interfaces (API) that helps developers create different types of servers
  • It is a high-performance tool, thanks to incorporating non-blocking I/O operations. It employs the JavaScript V8 engine to execute code, increasing its speed
  • It supports scripting languages like Ruby, CoffeeScript, and TypeScript
  • It enables rapid development suitable for applications that require frequent changes.

Also Read: Difference Between Angular And Angular 2

NodeJS vs AngularJS In Tabular Form

NodeJSAngularJS
It is a run-time, cross-platform environment for applications written using the JavaScript programming languageIt is an open-source web development framework that has been developed by Google.
Need for installing Node.js on the computer systemOnly required to add AngularJS file –just like any other JavaScript file for using in application development
Written in C, C++, & JavaScript programming languages. It is capable of supporting input-output API and the event-driven architecture.Written entirely using JavaScript. It also ensures extending the syntax of HTML for describing the applications’ components.
Useful in constructing scalable and fast server-side networking capabilitiesThe framework is well-suited for the development of client-side, single-page environments
Access to multiple web development frameworks like Partial.js, Sails.js, Express.js, and othersIt is itself a web-based application framework
Ideal for the development of small-sized web development projectsIdeal for the creation of highly interactive web-based applications
Using this, developers can leverage JavaScript –both on the server and client side. Therefore, focus is only on learning one language.It requires a deeper understanding of scope, prototyping, and multiple JavaScript aspects.
Useful in the generation of database queries as JavaScript is utilized for composing database queries including MongoDB, CouchDB, and others. This helps in reducing the task of the developer as there is no requirement of remembering the syntax while combining NoSQL and Node.js databases.It divides the web application into useful MVC components. AngularJS makes the given task simpler by implementing MVC through the division.
It serves to be an ideal option for collaborative, real-time editing or drawing applications. Here, the users can observe the documents getting modified in real-timeThe declarative approach of AngularJS simplifies the process of app development.
Node.js is useful in conditions wherein something scalable and faster need to be developed.AngularJS is useful in the creation of real-time web-based applications like chat apps or instant messaging apps.

What you need to know about NodeJS and AngularJS

  • AngularJS is a great option for building long-sized projects, where NodeJS is ideal for developing small-sized projects.
  • AngularJS is an open-source framework for the client-side of the application, whereas NodeJS is a cross-platform runtime system and environment for applications written in JavaScript.
  • AngularJS is best suited for interactive single-page web applications, whereas NodeJS is used to build fast and server-based web applications.
  • AngularJS doesn’t have to be added installed separately; one must add it like any other JavaScript file so that it be used in applications, whereas NodeJS must be installed on the machine.
  • AngularJS is compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera and mobile-based browsers such as an Android browser, Chrome for Mobile and so on, whereas NodeJS is available for Windows, Linux, Sun OS, and Mac OS.
  • AngularJS is created entirely using JavaScript, whereas NodeJS is written in JavaScript, C++ and C languages.
  • AngularJS support real-time applications like instant messaging or chat apps, whereas NodeJS is best suited for real-time collaborative drawing or editing applications like Google Docs.
  • AngularJS is a web application framework, whereas a number of frameworks are based on NodeJS like Express JS, Sails JS etc.
  • AngularJS is a front-end framework and can be used with any backend programming language like PHP, Java etc., whereas NodeJS is simply a server-side language; in a web application like context, it acts as a Java on the server-side.
  • NodeJs primarily used to create server-side networking applications. AngularJs is best suited for building single-page client-side web applications