Day 1: Introduction to Angular

What is Angular?

Angular is a popular open-source web application framework developed and maintained by Google. It is primarily used for building single-page applications (SPAs) and other client-side web applications. Angular is based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern and provides a comprehensive set of tools and features to simplify the development process.

Key Features of Angular

Declarative UI: Angular uses a declarative approach to building user interfaces, where developers define the desired state of the UI, and the framework handles the necessary updates.

Dependency Injection: Angular has a powerful dependency injection system that allows for the easy management and sharing of services, components, and other dependencies across the application.

Modular Design: Angular applications are structured into modules, which help organize the codebase and promote reusability.

Directives: Directives are a core concept in Angular, allowing developers to extend the functionality of HTML elements and create custom components.

Reactive Programming: Angular embraces the principles of reactive programming, making it easier to handle asynchronous data flows and events.

TypeScript: Angular is primarily written in TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript that adds static typing and other features to improve developer productivity and code quality.

Getting Started with Angular

To get started with Angular, you’ll need to have the following prerequisites installed on your system:

Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager)
Angular CLI, a command-line tool for creating, developing, and maintaining Angular applications

Once you have these prerequisites, you can follow these steps to create your first Angular application:

Install Angular CLI: Open a terminal or command prompt and run the following command to install the Angular CLI globally:

Create a New Angular Project: Run the following command to create a new Angular project:

This command will prompt you with a few questions, such as whether you want to add routing and which stylesheet format you prefer.

Serve the Application: Navigate to the project directory and start the development server:

This will start the development server and make your application available at http://localhost:4200/.

Explore the Project Structure: The Angular CLI creates a basic project structure for you, including the following key files and directories:

src/app: This is where you’ll find the main application components, services, and modules.

src/index.html: The main HTML file that serves as the entry point for your application.

src/main.ts: The main TypeScript file that bootstraps the Angular application.

angular.json: The Angular CLI configuration file, which allows you to customize your project settings.

Understanding Angular Concepts

In the following days, we’ll dive deeper into the core concepts of Angular, such as:

Components
Modules
Services
Directives
Pipes
Routing
Forms
State Management
Testing

By the end of this blog series, you’ll have a solid understanding of Angular and be able to build your own Angular applications.