Comparing Jquery and AngularJS is, in a way, like comparing apples to oranges. jQuery is a JavaScript library, while Angular is a well structured and organized framework. They fulfill different roles and are often used in conjunction.
jQuery
jQuery is an easy to use modular DOM manipulation library that provides a set of methods that work on all common browsers to achieve common tasks like manipulating elements, events, AJAX requests, effects, and more with simpler Javascript, saving time and producing cleaner code that works across all common browsers. jQuery functions:
- HTML/DOM manipulation
- Event Handling
- CSS manipulation
- Effect and Animation control
- Provides cross-browser compatible code
- Makes end code clean and lightweight
- Ajax/JSON support
jQuery has a non binding structure, which allows developers full freedom to build their project as they see fit, but can often lead to spaghetti code. In preventing messy code, AngularjS can help, making it a good choice for large projects with multiple developers who need some sort of structure. It is also helpful in adding features to your app, like a slider. It is very good for quickly scripting ideas.
If you are looking for simple, lightweight DOM manipulation, jQuery might be the best choice. jQuery is a library by design, and it can help you customize the DOM with simpler JavaScript. You can build a website with jQuery and vanilla JavaScript or an existing framework.
In addition to what is included with the base jQuery library, there are many open source additions, including solutions for templating, two way data binding, dependency management, and more. Some of these even cover some core features of AngularJS. We do advise caution when adding a lot of dependencies to jQuery. With a base minified and compressed size of 32KB, you’ll quickly inflate the size and loading times if you add too much to it.
AngularJS
AngularJS is an open source web application framework released in 2009. It receives improvements with every update, and is great for creating a structured website. If you’re planning on making a structured single page website, AngularJS is the right choice.
It is less friendly to inexperienced developers, and requires some discipline to work with. It comes with advanced features like two way data binding and dependency injection, which allow you to create more advanced applications compared to jQuery. Of course, you can use jQuery in conjunction with AngularJS as well. Some of the features of AngularJS
- Angular directives as an extension to HTML
- Dependency Injection
- MVC Framework support
- Two way data binding
- RESTful API support
- Form Validation
- Unit Testing
- Templating Support
A lot of the above features are not available with jQuery unless you add dependencies, making core AngularJS a simple solution for many problems that jQuery doesn’t natively solve. With a minified and compressed size of 38KB currently, if everything you need is available with AngularJS and not core jQuery, you are better for choosing Angular for performance reasons.
Need a jQuery or Angular Development Team?
We have many years of experience both with AngularJS and jQuery, and we offer comprehensive support to back it up. If you want to hire jQuery developers or Angular JS developers at competitive rates, be sure to get in touch with the team at CodeClouds.
