Revolutionizing Development: A Deep Dive into Angular 17's Renaissance

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Revolutionizing Development A Deep Dive into
Angular 17's Renaissance
Angular 17, the latest version of the widely
popular web development framework, was released
on November 8th, 2023. As a developer, you cannot
afford to miss this major release! This blog
post will give you an in-depth understanding of
all the exciting features and enhancements that
Angular 17 offers, regardless of whether you are
a seasoned developer or just starting. With
practical examples and valuable insights, this
blog will help you get the most out of Angular
17. So, let us dive in and take your web
development skills to the next level with
Angular 17! Renaissance of Angular The Angular
Renaissance marked a significant moment in the
evolution of the framework. The event showcased
a comprehensive rebranding initiative initiated
just before version 17 arrived. This event was
the first of its kind since the advent of
Angular. The rebranding exercise involved a
complete overhaul of the branding color palette
and a refreshed red logo. The new branding
portrays a modern approach that Angular will
offer while retaining the iconic shield shape
synonymous with AngularJS. The Angular
Renaissance is a testament to the framework's
commitment to innovation, creativity, and
user-centricity. The refreshed branding reflects
the framework's drive to improve and provide
users with the best possible experience
continuously.
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Whats new in Angular 17 Features and Updates
Here are the new key features Angular 17 adds.
Easier Server-side Rendering. If you are an
Angular developer, you will be pleased to know
that the Angular community has been giving a lot
of attention to server-side rendering
(SSR) lately, and this trend is set to continue
with future versions. Moreover, the CLI now
includes a prompt asking if you want to enable
SSR when you create a new application using the
'ng new' command. With SSR becoming
increasingly important for performance and SEO,
it is great to see the Angular team making it
easier for developers to integrate this feature
into their applications.
Prompt for SSR in new Angular App In Angular
17, the default option is NO, while the plan for
Angular v18 is to add the SSR by default when
we create our application.
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Hydration is no longer in the developer
preview. We've observed a remarkable surge in
applications embracing hydration over the past
few months. We're delighted to share that
hydration has transitioned out of the developer
preview stage and is now enabled by default in
all new applications utilizing server-side
rendering. This signifies that Angular developers
can seamlessly leverage hydration advantages
without additional setup or configuration. The
New _at_angular/ssr package To add Hybrid rendering
support to your existing application, you must
run the below command ng add _at_angular/ssr You
can use this command to initiate the server entry
point, enable SSR and SSG build capabilities,
and enable hydration by default. It is worth
noting that _at_angular/ssrprovides the same
functionality as _at_nguniversal/express- engine,
which is currently in maintenance mode. If you
currently use the express-engine, Angular CLI
will automatically update your code to use
_at_angular/ssr.

• New Built-in Control Flow.
• Angular Development has recently introduced a new
  feature to simplify the process of writing
  control flow in templates. The new declarative
  syntax allows developers to write control flow
  into the template directly, eliminating the
• requirement of using directive-based control
  flows such as ngIf, ngFor, and
• ngSwitch. This new feature makes it easier for
  developers to remember and efficiently use
  control flows without looking them up over the
  internet. Hence, it saves their time and
  enhances their productivity.
• You can use the new declarative control flow
  syntax in Angular 17 with the following steps
• The first step is to import the _at_angular/core
  module to your existing component.

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• Add the '_at_' prefix to control flow directive to
  use _at_if, _at_switch, _at_for
• instead of NgIf, Ngfor, and NgSwitch.
• Conditional display of content can be achieved by
  using the "_at_
• directive". Simply wrap the desired content with
  this directive to display it conditionally.
• When you pass an expression to the _at_ directive,
  its value is evaluated, and if it is true, the
  content inside the _at_ directive is displayed.
• The new declarative control flow syntax is an
  improved version of the previous ngIf, ngFor,
  and ngSwitch directives. It offers an
  easier-to-understand and more expressive way of
  handling conditional logic. With this syntax,
  creating and maintaining intricate conditional
  logic becomes easier, leading to a simpler and
  more efficient web development process.
• Here, the below code is used with _at_if, _at_else if,
  and _at_else directives to display the different
  messages based on the value of the available
  country.

_at_if, _at_else if, _at_else example When wrapping HTML
content, including other directives, components,
and templates, the _at_ directive can be incredibly
useful. It enables you to easily wrap and
organize your content, making it easier to manage
and maintain overall. Whether you are working on
a complex project or a simple web page,
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the _at_ directive can help streamline your HTML and
improve your overall workflow. You may
regulate the visibility of certain webpage
elements using the _at_ directive. For instance, the
_at_if directive can be utilized to hide a button if
a specific condition is not met. Nested
conditional statements can be constructed using
the _at_ directive. This allows for creating
complex conditional logic tailored to specific
use cases.
Switch The suggested syntax for switch control
flow consists of blocks marked by the keywords
"switch,""case," and "default."
_at_switch case example
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• The control flow named _at_switch, which is included
  in Angular's built-in flow control, allows for
  the evaluation of an expression and the execution
  of
• different code blocks based on the matching case.
  This feature is a valuable tool for managing
  multiple branching conditions.
• The _at_switch can be utilized under different
  conditions and requirements to display various
  components effectively.
• Loop
• The Angular framework introduced a built-in
  control flow statement called the _at_for loop.
  This feature enables you to iterate over a
  collection and effortlessly render content for
  each item. The _at_for loop provides several
  advantages,
• including
• To enable Angular to efficiently track changes to
  a collection and update the DOM accordingly, it
  is necessary to have a tracking expression to
• identify the items in the collection uniquely.
  This tracking expression plays a crucial role in
  ensuring that updates to the collection are
  accurately reflected in the UI, enabling a smooth
  and responsive user experience.
• If you want to display a specific message or
  content without data in the collection, you can
  use the _at_empty block. This block lets you
  customize the message according to your
  preference to guide users on what to do next.
• After a collection is modified, it is important
  to determine the minimal number of DOM
  operations needed to optimize performance. By
  using an optimized algorithm, significant
  performance improvements can be achieved,
  particularly for large collections.
• To use the _at_for loop, all you need to do is wrap
  the code you want to repeat in a _at_for block.
  This block should contain a trackBy expression,
  which is used to ensure that each item in the
  collection is uniquely identified. Additionally,
  you can utilize the _at_empty block to provide
  content displayed when the collection is empty.

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_at_for loop example Iterating through a collection
of movies is a common task in this example, we
can see how to achieve this using the movie
collection easily. The movie expression is used
to identify each item in the collection uniquely,
and each movie's name can be rendered as
required. The _at_for loop is a powerful new tool to
help you write more efficient and maintainable
Angular code. Deferrable Views
(_at_defer) Deferring the loading of components,
directives, or pipes can be a highly effective
technique for improving the performance of your
Angular application, and the _at_defer directive is
a great way to accomplish this task. This
directive is designed to delay loading specific
components until they are needed, which can help
reduce the initial load time of your application
and improve the user experience. By using _at_defer,
you can ensure that your application only loads
the necessary components, which can lead to a
more responsive and efficient application.
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_at_defer example The code above is an example of
how to use a basic _at_defer block. By
default, _at_defer will load the home component when
the browser is idle. Add a placeholder To include
HTML that will display before deferred loading
begins, add a _at_placeholder block to the _at_defer
block. It is worth noting that content within
the _at_placeholder block is loaded eagerly.
_at_defer and _at_placeholder example
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Add a loading block To add a block for _at_loading
to _at_defer, simply place the HTML content you
want to display while the deferred content is
being fetched in the _at_loading block. Keep in
mind that the content in _at_loading blocks is
eagerly loaded. So, when the deferred content
has not finished loading yet, the HTML content in
the _at_loading block will be displayed.
_at_defer, _at_placeholder. And _at_loading example Add
an error block When the deferred loading
process fails for some reason, the content
represented by _at_error is displayed.
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_at_defer and _at_error example You can set a maximum
loading time using a special timeout condition
when working with the defer block in conjunction
with the _at_error block. This feature allows you
to display the contents of the _at_error block if
dependencies take longer than the specified time.
Within this block, the user can access the
error variable, which provides information about
any errors that may have occurred during the
loading process. Stable Signals Signal is a
fundamental component of reactive programming.
Its primary function is to store a value that
consumers can access. Signals can also be
modified whenever this happens, all the
consumers are notified of the change. If you are
using a consumer template in Angular, it can
notify the framework about any changes in the
bindings. The Angular team refers to this
notification as a "producer" signal. Besides
this, there are various other building blocks
available that can perform this function as
well. Angular 17 has now released signals as
stable, except for the effect() function, which
is still in developer preview. This means that we
can use them with confidence in commercial
applications. During the developer preview,
several significant changes were made. Local
Change Detection
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• In this version, we have introduced a new feature
  that can be considered one of the most
  significant advancements. It is the first
  significant step towards signal-based
  components, which promises to revolutionize how
  we interact with our devices.
• It is worth noting that we can now run Change
  Detection for a single component. This feature
  is impactful, as it has the potential to enhance
  the performance of an application significantly.
• For Change Detection to work on a per-component
  basis, 2 requirements must be met
• The CD must be triggered by a signal
• All components in our application must have an
  OnPush strategy
• defaultEquals changes
• The default way of comparing signal values has
  been changed.
• The defaultEquals function implementation in v16
  considered any two objects to be different. Even
  if we returned references to the same object, all
• dependent signals were notified of the change.
• The bellow is the implementation of defaultEquals
  in Angular v16

Before Angular 17 The bellow is the
implementation of defaultEquals in Angular v17
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After Angular 17 In some cases, changes can be
confusing at first. But, in many cases, they can
positively impact performance. You can use a new
object instance with the updated properties to
ensure you are notified of the change. This can
be achieved by using the spread operator or
creating your own implementation of the equals
function and specifying it in the signal options.
By doing this, you can ensure that you are aware
of any changes and can take appropriate action
if necessary. Removal of the mutate method The
Angular team recently decided to remove the
'mutate' function previously used to modify the
value stored by the signal. This was because the
'mutate' function skipped comparing values,
which was its intended purpose. Instead, it is
now recommended to use only the 'update' function
for this purpose. This change has been
implemented to ensure better functionality and
user experience. A notable change has been
introduced, which has positive implications. This
change provides a consistent and predictable
approach for modifying signals, consequently
improving code quality and simplicity.
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• Additional Features of Angular 17
• Angular 17 now supports custom element binding
  and element providers.
• In Angulars latest version, internationalization
  and accessibility come with better support.
• In the newest version of Angular, the router now
  supports the View Transitions API.
• Angular 17 introduced the ability to lazy load
  animations.
• In Angular 17 the ng g interceptor statement
  generates functional interceptors.
• A diagnostic now alerts the user when reading
  signals in templates if the getter call was
  overlooked (e.g., products instead of
  products() ).
• When you change a data-bound signal, Angular only
  marks the components directly affected by this
  change as dirty ( the components to which this
  signal is data-bound). This differs from the
  traditional
• behavior of marking all parents as dirty.
  Improves performance when used in conjunction
  with OnPush. Moreover, this represents a first
  step towards the desired more accurate change
  detection.
• Angular CLI generates standalone pipes,
  standalone components, and standalone
  directives. The ng new command also provides
• bootstrapping for independent components by
  default. The -- standalone false switch can
  disable this behavior.
• How to install and update Angular 17? Install
  Angular
• Step-1 Install node.js and npm
• Here, you can visit the official website and
  install node.js - https//nodejs.org/en/download
  /current , from where you can download the
  latest version of node.js, which is 21.1.0.
• Check the command prompt that the command node -v
  installs node.js.

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Step 2 Install Angular CLI Angular CLI creates
an angular project, applications, and library
code. The Angular CLI is extremely helpful in
performing tasks like Development, Testing, and
Bundling. You can install Angular CLI with the
help of NPM (Node Package Manager). Now, open
the command prompt and run the below command npm
install -g _at_angular/cli The system will ask if
you want to share the data with the angular
team throughout the installation. You will get a
Yes or NO option to select. Any of the answers
will not affect the functionality. Once the
installation is done, you must verify whether the
Angular CLI is installed properly. You can check
it by running the command below in the command
prompt. ng v or ng v
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Update Angular Step 1 Update Node.js to the
latest version. npm install g npm Step 2
Install Angular CLI Globally and locally. npm
install -g _at_angular/cli Step 3 Run ng update
_at_angular/cli to update configuration files. ng
update _at_angular/cli Step 4 Update the Core
Packages and dependencies.
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ng update _at_angular/core
Conclusion Angular's latest release, version 17,
brings many significant changes that will have a
far-reaching impact on the development landscape.
One of the most important changes is the new
control flow, which offers advanced capabilities
for managing signal-based components.
Transitioning to the new control flow is
expected to be a critical step for developers.
Additionally, Server-Side Rendering (SSR) is
poised to become a fundamental and enduring
component within the Angular ecosystem. These
changes are likely to shape the future of
working with the Angular framework, making it
even more powerful and versatile for
developers. Angular 17 promises a major leap in
application performance during the loading phase,
with new features dedicated to optimizing and
reducing load times. This release underscores
Angular's dedication to enhancing user
experiences through streamlined processes and an
efficient platform. These innovations showcase
Angular's commitment to efficiency, positioning
Angular 17 as a foundational version for
developers. By embracing these advancements,
developers ensure their applications are
performance- optimized and future-ready. As a
leading Angular development company, we witness
firsthand the transformative power of Angular
17. The framework's renaissance encapsulates a
new era of web development, offering our clients
unparalleled solutions and cutting-edge
features. We're committed to harnessing Angular's
capabilities to craft innovative, efficient,
scalable applications that propel businesses
forward. So, what are you waiting for? Go and
hire the best Angular developers from The One
Technologies and start your development
journey with us. Original Source
Revolutionizing Development A Deep Dive into
Angular 17's Renaissance