Top Six Features of Angular 8 Need to Know by Web and App Developers in 2020

The journey from Angular.js to Angular solved many issues, including debugging and dependency injection, since it introduced Typescript to superset Javascript. Started as Angular.js to solve HTML related challenges, it went on to develop high-end Single Page Applications (SPAs). Since then, it transcended from features like AOT, Hierarchical Injection, Compiler, View-engine enhancements, Build Optimizer to some of the most significant recent updates like Bazel, CLI, ng adds, and CDK till Angular 7.

The latest version Angular 8, launched on 23rd May 2019. It boasts of some interesting features like capabilities to develop modern-gen applications, CLI APIs with support from web workers, and differential loading, among others.

Features that Angular 8 Has in Store

Angular emerged as one of the topmost preferred Javascript frameworks for facilitating the development of apps. It garnered immense fame for enabling app developers to create Full Stack development seamlessly. Angular 8 goes a step further to bring about a massive improvement in the loading speed of apps. Some of the notable features of Angular 8 are:

1. Default Differential Loading
2. Angular Ivy
3. Web Worker Support
4. Lazy Loading
5. Router-Backwards Compatibility and Bazel Support
6. Typescript 3.4 and Dart-sass

1. Default Differential Loading

Version 8 introduces the production of distinct bundles for both legacy and modern Javascript, as  ES5  and ES2015+, respectively, for CLI. And these will form a considerable part of the overall building process. These components will ultimately help in boosting the speed of app loading and time to interact (TTI). Differential loading consists of bundles that are specially optimized to adapt themselves according to modern browsers. Apart from that, older browsers also get support from the legacy bundles introduced in this feature. It also ensures that all the browsers load the correct set of packages. Additionally, a CLI extension is also added to make the process automated.

2. Angular Ivy

Ivy has remained a crucial part of Angular since its inception, and the 8th version introduces it as an opt-in preview. It uses a different approach by implementing incremental DOM that allows developers to see how their applications work with Ivy. It means that Ivy’s new radical way makes internal changes in the framework workflow. So, developers won’t have to change the Angular applications. Though it is not fully functional yet, it can be used to improve View Engine function with the enable-ivy option.

It is developed mainly to rewrite the compiling and runtime code for enhancing some of the functionalities. Ivy provides a more straightforward code for humans to read and understand it better, speedier rebuild times, reduction in payload size to make it easier for downloading and parsing applications, and improved template type checking.

3. Web Worker Support

Web workers form a very significant component of frontend development. They assist while transferring the authority of CPU intensive functions to a different hardware point. Developers will find it pretty beneficial because earlier, they lacked an alternative hardware thread. Previously, the code present in the worker had to be in a file that is separate from Javascript. It hampered the process of automatic bundling of Javascript into as few files as possible.

Now, developers can work seamlessly with Angular CLI to create parallel web-working processes with the new update. Apart from this, it also includes opt-in usage sharing that enables developers to choose whether they want to share the Angular CLI telemetry.

4. Lazy Loading

Angular’s Lazy Loading feature is conceptualized according to Angular Routing, one of the basic Angular.js development services. It’s a vital tool that helps in reducing the size of large files by loading Javascript components asynchronously while activating a particular route. Earlier, Angular accepted the figures in the @loadchildren string even when there was a mistake in loading code or module until its built.

Now, it added assistance for dynamic imports while configuring the routes. It allows developers to utilize import statements that facilitate the lazy loading of modules. So, VSCode and WebStorm editors can now understand, recognize, measure, and validate the syntax and imports better. Also, IDEs and web packs would get extra support from these imports. Plus, Typescript can now detect spelling errors in modules or if they are missing.

5. Router-Backwards Compatibility and Bazel Support

Angular makes it convenient to upgrade large applications by adding support for router-backward compatibility. Lazy loading of parts of the Angular.js app can quickly move to Angular by utilizing $route APIs.

The most significant advantage of Bazel is that it allows developers to build their CLI application with it that can operate on different language inputs. Since the Angular framework itself functions on Bazel, it’s a great added benefit for the developers. It makes it easier to develop modules for both frontend and backend with the same tool. It will also increase the speed of building with different modules and libraries in the app. It allows developers to announce those tasks that have a clarity of input and output. Hence, only the required ones will be running. Testing and incremental builds enable lesser rebuild times.

6. Typescript 3.4 and Dart-sass

The latest version of Typescript has made itself a compulsory feature in Angular 8, along with tools like RxJS. Developers can now manually upgrade to the newest version of Typescript without any hindrances. Plus, from now on, all Angular CLI’s new apps would be incorporating Typescript’s latest release on default. Upgrading these tools will help in synchronizing the ecosystem and generation of understandable Javascript codes.

Angular CLI has replaced Node-sass files with Dart-sass for building Sass files, and it comes as a welcome change. It can replace Ruby, the most prominent language for the reference implementation, as Dart is considered the fastest language out there, also used in Flutter. Though this doesn’t bring changes in Sass files, the compiling process might become a little complex. Plus, the fibers could also speed up the process. However, even though Dart has become the default, developers can still use Node-sass by installing it explicitly.

Winding Up

Considering all the updates in Angular 8, the biggest has been Ivy. Apart from that, other features have immense potential for enhancing the performance and speed of the apps. Hence, it’s the right decision for the businesses to upgrade their apps from Angular 7 to Angular 8. Angular 8 can be highly beneficial for them in terms of creating an intuitive user experience and retaining a loyal customer base. Also, since Ivy is only for opt-in preview, professional web developers can find it easier to see if their apps are compatible with it. It’s a win-win situation for both the businesses and developers to get a clear idea if their apps are ready before they start working in future versions of Angular when Ivy would become the default.