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Angular

Angular is a powerful framework for building scalable and maintainable web applications. This guideline covers best practices, tips, and a step-by-step roadmap to help you master Angular development.

The Basics​

Core Concepts​

  • Components: Building blocks of the UI.
  • Templates: HTML structure for a component.
  • Directives: Add behavior to templates.
  • Services: Encapsulate business logic and data fetching.
  • Modules: Organize the application and enable lazy loading.
  • Dependency Injection (DI): Provide and manage instances of services.

Essential Tools​

  • Node.js & npm: Required for Angular CLI and package management.
  • Angular CLI: Command-line interface for project scaffolding and management.
  • TypeScript: Angular's primary language for development.

Project Setup​

Install Angular CLI​

npm install -g @angular/cli

Create a New Project​

ng new my-angular-app
  • Select SCSS (preferred for styling) during setup.
  • Use strict typing for better code quality.

Run the Project​

ng serve

Application Architecture​

src/
  app/
    components/
    services/
    models/
    pipes/
    directives/
    shared/
    modules/

Component Naming​

  • Use kebab-case for selectors: <app-header>.
  • Use PascalCase for filenames: HeaderComponent.

Module Organization​

  • Core Module: Singletons like services, interceptors.
  • Shared Module: Reusable components, directives, and pipes.
  • Feature modules for specific application domains.

Best Practices​

Components​

  • Keep components focused: One task per component.
  • Use @Input and @Output for parent-child communication.
  • Avoid logic in templates; delegate it to the component class.

Services​

  • Use services for state management, API calls, and shared logic.
  • Follow the Singleton pattern.

Change Detection​

  • Use OnPush strategy for performance optimization when appropriate.
  • Leverage trackBy in *ngFor for efficient DOM updates.

Forms​

  • Use Reactive Forms for complex use cases.
  • Use Template-Driven Forms for simpler scenarios.

Styling Guidelines​

  • Use SCSS with Angular.
  • Follow a consistent BEM (Block-Element-Modifier) naming convention.
  • Use Angular Material for a consistent UI.
  • Leverage CSS variables for theming.

State Management​

  • For small apps, manage state using services.
  • For large applications, consider NgRx (Redux for Angular) or other state management libraries.
  • Avoid over-complicating state management; use it only when necessary.

Error Handling and Logging​

  • Centralize API error handling using HTTP Interceptors.
  • Use Angular's ErrorHandler for global error tracking.
  • Implement logging services for debugging and monitoring.

Performance Optimization​

  • Lazy load feature modules.
  • Preload critical assets using Angular's PreloadingStrategy.
  • Use ngx-quicklink for route preloading.
  • Optimize image loading with modern formats like WebP.
  • Minimize change detection with detached views where necessary.

Testing​

  • Use Karma and Jasmine for unit testing.
  • Write tests for:
    • Components
    • Services
    • Directives
  • Use Protractor or Cypress for end-to-end (E2E) testing.

Deployment​

  • Use ng build --prod to build production-ready code.
  • Optimize bundle sizes using:
    • Tree-shaking.
    • Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation.
  • Host on platforms like Firebase, Netlify, or AWS.

Useful Resources​