Originally published in The New Stack Update.
React is a library with Facebook roots. Angular is a Google-spawned framework. There is abundant analysis comparing them and, in general, it shows that Angular trails, with Vue.js getting significant buzz. Yet, since AngularJS 2 was a significant rewrite, you should not conflate declining use of the original Angular with complaints about the newer version. We found preferences differ based on what flavor of JavaScript you use. VisionMobile’s State of the Developer Nation shows React won the battle last year among developers that migrated to the latest version of JavaScript (ESNEXT or ES2015+) as their primary language: 27 percent of this group prioritize using React. Admittedly, many users of Angular 1.x dropped it when they upgraded to the latest version of JavaScript; however, all is not lost for Angular. Among all web developers, Angular 2.x is prioritized by 10 percent, one point higher than React. Furthermore, Angular has seen a lot of uptake among TypeScript fans, with 41 percent prioritizing 2.x and another 18 percent favoring the older version. With the recent release of Angular 4 and TypeScript’s growing popularity, we expect the JavaScript wars to continue.
