Tech-Notes

Important Angular Versions and Their Features

AngularJS (1.x)

• Released: 2010
• Key Features:
  • Based on MVC architecture.
  • Two-way data binding.
  • Introduction of Directives for reusable components.
  • Built-in Dependency Injection.
  • Usage of Scopes to bind models to views.

Angular 2

• Released: 2016
• Key Features:
  • Complete rewrite of AngularJS.
  • Component-based architecture.
  • Introduction of TypeScript as the primary language.
  • Improved performance over AngularJS by avoiding dirty checking.
  • Support for RxJS Observables.
  • Hierarchical Dependency Injection system.

Angular 4

• Released: 2017
• Key Features:
  • Skipped version 3 for module alignment.
  • Smaller, faster applications with view engine improvements.
  • Introduced HttpClient as a replacement for Http.
  • Animation Package moved to its own module.
  • Support for TypeScript 2.1+.

Angular 5

• Released: 2017
• Key Features:
  • Build Optimizer for reducing the bundle size.
  • HttpClient became the default for HTTP requests.
  • Enhanced compiler performance with incremental compilation.
  • Support for Progressive Web Apps (PWA).

Angular 6

• Released: 2018
• Key Features:
  • ng update and ng add commands for easier upgrades and package installation.
  • Introduction of Angular Elements to embed Angular components into non-Angular apps.
  • Enhanced Service Workers for better PWA support.
  • Support for Tree-shakable services to reduce bundle size.

Angular 7

• Released: 2018
• Key Features:
  • CLI Prompts to help with configuration during project creation.
  • Improved drag and drop module via @angular/cdk.
  • Better performance through virtual scrolling.
  • Updated Angular Material with new components and accessibility improvements.

Angular 8

• Released: 2019
• Key Features:
  • Ivy Rendering Engine introduced as an opt-in feature.
  • Support for Differential Loading to deliver modern JavaScript to modern browsers.
  • Lazy Loading with dynamic imports.
  • Web Workers support for improving application performance.

Angular 9

• Released: 2020
• Key Features:
  • Ivy became the default rendering engine, improving build times and smaller bundle sizes.
  • Improved type checking in templates.
  • Faster compilation and testing process.

Angular 10

• Released: 2020
• Key Features:
  • Smaller and more focused framework updates.
  • Improved performance with the introduction of optional strict mode.
  • Updated TypeScript support for version 3.9.

Angular 11

• Released: 2020
• Key Features:
  • Automatic font inlining in the production build.
  • Improved HMR (Hot Module Replacement) support.
  • Enhanced webpack 5 support for improved performance.

Angular 12

• Released: 2021
• Key Features:
  • Deprecated View Engine in favor of Ivy.
  • Added strict mode for more optimized builds.
  • Improved internationalization (i18n) features.

Angular 13

• Released: 2021
• Key Features:
  • Angular Package Format (APF) enhancements for better distribution.
  • Improved support for CSS module styles.
  • TypeScript 4.4 support and performance improvements.

Angular 14

• Released: 2022
• Key Features:
  • Support for Standalone Components to simplify application structure.
  • Typed Forms for better type-checking and form controls.
  • CLI improvements for smaller and more efficient builds.

Angular 15

• Released: 2022
• Key Features:
  • Directive composition API, allowing reuse of common directive logic.
  • Simplified standalone APIs for services and guards.
  • Enhanced router transitions and data retrieval in resolvers.
  • Advanced debugging tools in Angular DevTools.

Angular 16

• Released: 2023
• Key Features:
  • Standalone APIs: Continued improvements to standalone components.
  • Signals API: Reactive signal-based state management.
  • ESM (EcmaScript Modules): Faster builds and tree-shaking.
  • SSR Hydration: Improved server-side rendering with environment-independent hydration.

Angular 17 (Upcoming)

• Key Features:
  • New compilation model for faster application startup and rendering.
  • Expanded Signals API for better reactive state management.
  • Further performance enhancements, including smaller bundle sizes and faster builds.
  • Integration with the latest TypeScript versions.
  • Continued updates to SSR hydration techniques.

Angular 18 (Future)

• Key Features:
  • Further evolution of the standalone component model, simplifying application structure.
  • Possible ML integration to optimize application performance and compilation.
  • UI and form enhancements, improving reactivity and declarative patterns.