Top 8 Tools for Angular Development in 2023
Bit, PrimeNG, RxJS, NgRx and more
Angular is a popular JavaScript-based, open-source web application framework widely used for building dynamic and scalable applications. With its extensive feature set and community support, Angular has become one of the most popular frameworks for web development.
However, it is not easy to deliver high-quality Angular applications without the right set of tools at their disposal. So, in this article, I will discuss the top 8 tools for Angular development in 2023.
1. Bit
Github — https://github.com/teambit/bit
Bit is a tool that helps developers build component-based applications and collaborate on components independent of a Git repo or any other development setup. With Bit, you can take a component-driven approach to developing your Angular apps.
Bit lets you design, develop and test your Angular components in an integrated dev environment with separate source files, dependencies, metadata, dev configuration, and artifacts for each component.
Hence, you don’t need to access the entire codebase to run a single component. You just need to import the component, make changes and export it to Bit, enabling you to seamlessly share and reuse your components with your team and across multiple projects.
Learn more about simplifying your Angular projects using Bit:
Features
- Bit allows developers to build and control Angular components as standalone modules.
- Can easily share Angular components with other teams.
- Provides independent version control for individual components.
- Supports test-driven development.
- Provides tools and integrations for continuous integration and deployment.
2. Angular CLI
Github — https://github.com/angular/angular-cli
Angular CLI is the command-line interface tool for Angular. It provides a set of pre-configured project templates, generators, and commands to simplify the process of starting new projects and creating components, services and modules. Additionally, Angular CLI offers robust testing tools, including end-to-end testing with Protractor and unit testing with Karma.
Features
- Offers a set of pre-configured project templates that support a variety of testing frameworks and build tools.
- Provides a set of generators for creating new components, services, and modules, reducing the amount of boilerplate code developers need to write.
- The built-in server of Angular CLI makes it simple to run and test applications locally.
- The Angular CLI offers a configuration file that can be customized to modify the tool’s default behaviour.
- Angular CLI provides a command-line interface that makes executing everyday development tasks, such as building and testing applications, easy.
3. RxJS
Github — https://github.com/ReactiveX/rxjs
RxJS is a reactive programming library for Angular that provides powerful tools for working with asynchronous data streams. It simplifies developing reactive applications by allowing developers to handle events and data more declaratively and functionally.
With RxJS, developers can easily compose complex asynchronous operations and manage the data flow in their applications. In addition, RxJS supports various data sources, including HTTP requests, web sockets, and user input events, making it a versatile solution for dealing with complex and unpredictable events in Angular applications.
Features
- Enables developers to work with asynchronous data streams in a more declarative and functional way.
- Provides a powerful set of operators for filtering, transforming, and aggregating data streams.
- Provides tools for handling errors in asynchronous operations and testing asynchronous operations.
- Provides tools for optimizing the performance of asynchronous operations.
4. NgRx
Github — https://github.com/ngrx/platform
NgRx is a powerful library that provides Angular developers with an effective and predictable way to manage application states. It offers a centralized way to keep track of state changes consistently and supports asynchronous operations. NgRx streamlines the handling of complex states, reducing decision errors while enhancing the quality of the application.
Features
- Provide a predictable and centralized way to manage application state, making it easier to manage complex states and handle asynchronous operations.
- A proven and reliable way to manage state changes in Angular applications.
- Provides a set of tools and APIs for managing state changes, handling asynchronous operations, and integrating with other Angular tools and libraries.
- Provides tools for optimizing the performance of Angular applications, testing state management and asynchronous operations.
- Large and active community.
5. Angular DevTools
Github — https://github.com/angular/angular/tree/main/devtools
Angular DevTools is a popular Chrome extension that assists developers in debugging and profiling Angular applications. It visually represents the Angular application’s structure and allows developers to see the state of the directive and the component instances.
Features
- The Profiler tab provides details on individual change detection cycles, triggers, and rendering times, allowing developers to analyze and improve the performance of Angular applications.
- Integrates seamlessly with other Angular tools and libraries.
- An open-source tool that allows developers to contribute to the project.
- Easy to install and use with Chrome-based browsers.
6. PrimeNG
Github — https://github.com/primefaces/primeng
PrimeNG is a highly popular and reliable open-source Angular UI component library. It offers a vast collection of customizable UI components, such as grids, charts, calendars, menus, etc. Its’ ability to integrate seamlessly with Angular has made it a preferred choice for developers worldwide.
Developers can quickly and efficiently build complex and dynamic user interfaces with the help of PrimeNG’s pre-built components. Additionally, the library provides excellent customization options to ensure that the user interface matches the desired look and feel of the application.
Features
- Provides a wide range of UI components that are fully customizable and easy to integrate into Angular applications.
- Designed to work seamlessly with Angular.
- Regularly updated and maintained by a dedicated team.
- Designed with responsiveness in mind, making it a great choice for applications that need to be mobile-friendly.
7. Nx for Angular
Github — https://github.com/nrwl/nx
Nx is a powerful and extensible development tool for building Angular apps.
One of the advantages of using Nx for Angular development is speed. Its robust code generation capabilities allow developers to quickly produce components, services, and modules, reducing development time and improving code quality. Additionally, Nx simplifies dependency management and provides an influential dependency graph analysis tool to identify potential issues before they become problems.
Features
- Generators that make creating Angular components, services, and modules easy.
- Extensible architecture enables developers to add their own generators and plugins to personalize their development process.
- Plugins for tools like Jest, Cypress, and Prettier.
8. ng-bootstrap
Github — https://github.com/ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap
ng-bootstrap is an open-source library with many native Angular directives and components to create Bootstrap-based user interfaces. These components are designed to be easy to use and customize while adhering to modern design standards. Ng-bootstrap is lightweight and does not depend on jQuery, making it an excellent choice for developers prioritizing independence.
Features
- Provide various components, including carousels, modals, popovers, tooltips, navs, datepickers, ratings and typeaheads.
- Components are mobile responsive.
- Easy to customize, allowing developers to create unique and modern designs.
- Designed with accessibility in mind.
- All components are tested with 100% code coverage.
Conclusion
Angular is a powerful framework that enables developers to create complex and feature-rich web applications. However, developers should have a good understanding of Angular’s ecosystem to unlock its’ full potential.
For example, Bit resolves a significant issue in modern web development by providing an isolated environment to design, develop and test Angular components. Similarly, Nx provides powerful generators to easily create Angular components, services, and modules, while Angular DevTools enables debugging and profiling Angular applications within the browser.
I hope these suggestions will help you to design and build more scalable and robust Angular applications. Thank you for reading.
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