Angular5, officially released on November 1, 2017, is a major update in the Angular framework series developed by Google. It follows the component-based architecture introduced in Angular2 and brings several enhancements, bug fixes, and performance improvements to the platform.
Key Features and Improvements:
- Build Optimizer: Introduced to reduce bundle sizes by removing unnecessary code, improving load times and application performance.
- AOT Compilation by Default: Angular5 made Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation the default for production builds, which compiles the code before deploying, leading to faster rendering of the first view.
- TypeScript 2.4 Support: This version supports TypeScript 2.4, which includes features like string enums and dynamic imports.
- Improved Decorator Support: Enhanced decorator functionality for better component and service management.
- HttpClient: A new HttpClientModule was introduced, replacing the old Http module, offering better typing, testing support, and request/response interception.
- Zone.js Enhancements: Updates to Zone.js for improved performance in change detection.
- Animations: Animation features were moved into a separate package, making them optional, which helps reduce bundle size if not needed.
- Server-Side Rendering (SSR): Improved support for server-side rendering, enhancing SEO and initial load performance.
- Form Validation: New asynchronous validators for forms were introduced, enhancing form handling capabilities.
- PWA Support: Progressive Web App features were made easier to implement, improving offline capabilities and performance.
Context and History:
Angular5 is part of the evolution of the Angular framework which began with AngularJS. After AngularJS (1.x), Google completely rewrote Angular as Angular2, which introduced a new component-based architecture. Angular5 continued this evolution by focusing on performance, developer experience, and expanding the framework's capabilities. Each major version of Angular aims to improve upon the last while maintaining backward compatibility as much as possible, though significant changes often require updates to existing applications.
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