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JavaScript

Henrik Christensen
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Henrik Christensen
Python Web Development Techdegree Student 38,322 Points
Posted by Henrik Christensen
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Henrik Christensen
Python Web Development Techdegree Student 38,322 Points

AngularJS + server-side-language OR Express.js

Hi,

I've done the AngularJS and Express.js courses and now I'm wondering the following:

  • When do you make an website with Angular or Express instead of plain html, css, js?
  • When do you use Angular + a server-side-language instead of just using Express?

2 Answers

Jonathan Broderick
Jonathan Broderick
12,409 Points
Jonathan Broderick
Jonathan Broderick
12,409 Points

Hey Henrik,

To answer your first question, different types of applications call for different sets of languages/frameworks. For example, if you wanted to create a simple single-page web application, AngularJS + ExpressJS is perfect for that, or even just Angular. But if you want to create a secure, sophisticated, multi-page, data-heavy ecommerce site, AngularJS would not be a great fit for that. And, as far as "plain html, css, js" go, those are best used on basic websites/applications, like company websites, basic applications that don't need much - if any - server interaction, and various other information-relaying type websites.

Now, I'm not sure if I understand your second question. You can use Angular and Express together. In fact, it's incredibly popular to do so, hence the MEAN stack(MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS, NodeJS). Angular, being a front-end JS framework, can be used on its own to create single-page applications. Whereas, Express, being a back-end NodeJS framework, is less commonly used on its own unless it's in embedded devices and other similar uses.

If you're interested in creating robust web applications, the MEAN stack is a good way to go, and there are courses for just that right here on Treehouse.

Anyway, I hope I answered your questions. Good luck!

Jonathan Broderick
Jonathan Broderick
12,409 Points
Jonathan Broderick
Jonathan Broderick
12,409 Points

That depends on a couple of things: 1. what your portfolio site as a whole would consist of and 2. what your contact form would consist of.

And 1. would depend on what kind of portfolio site you'd like to have. What kind of work do you want to get? Do you want to be a web designer? Then your site should show extensive use of your styling skills with CSS, in which case Angular would not be necessary. Do you want to be a backend developer? Then your site should be very data-driven and interactive, showing your skills with a backend language/framework like ExpressJS, as well as a database language like MongoDB or MySQL. Do you want to be a JS developer? Then this is where using AngularJS would be a great fit, especially if it was combined with ExpressJS.

Most portfolio sites I've seen are pretty basic in terms of behavior, because they're really just meant to share information about yourself and possibly to refer people to other sites like GitHub where you might have completed projects people can look at. For this purpose, plain HTML, CSS, and maybe JS, are definitely sufficient.

Hope this was helpful! I'm not the most experienced developer, but I'm happy to help where I can so if you have more questions, please ask!