23 Essential Coding Practices to Make the Best Out of Angular

Very few other options can match Angular when it comes to creating a dynamic web application. Developed by Google, it is surely one of the best web applications available out there. You can get it for free and create modifications as it is an open-source application. 

Angular can offer you a very personalised experience while creating web applications. So, you can use it in many different ways depending on your requirements. However, there are certain essential practices that you must always follow while using Angular. Make sure to include the practices below among the ones you follow: 

1. Break Down the Components to make them Reusable

The components are the building blocks of the apps you develop using Angular. Many people might create big components, as Angular makes this task quite easy. However, you must consider creating smaller components to save some time. You can then reuse these components to make app development simpler. Also, remember that smaller components are easier to maintain. 

2. Avoid Using the “Any” Type

You might not be sure about the type of the variable you wrote in your code. Using the type “any” in such situations will assign any value to the variable. So, you must not use this type unnecessarily while coding with Angular. Moreover, you should minimise the use of this type as much as possible. 

This practice will help you create a more self-explanatory outcome with fewer errors. What if you face errors despite avoiding using the type “any”? In such cases, you would find it easier than usual to debug your code. 

3. Use the Command Line Interface

Have you been developing applications manually on Angular? You must consider using the command line for the task instead to finish the task much more quickly. Manually preceding the development can often take hours. However, using the command line requires a few minutes. 

So, this practice can help you save a lot of your time on Angular. Not only that, but you can generate any file type available for Angular using commands. 

4. Cache the API Calls

You would want the best performance from Angular while saving your device’s memory. Caching the API calls would be a great way to ensure that. It will prevent downloading the same information repeatedly while you are coding. 

Have you been facing performance issues with Angular for some time? You must apply this practice right away for an effective solution. 

5. Use Lazy Loading

Your Angular application might often take time to load. The lazy loading feature can improve its loading speed in such situations. This feature will load only specific components depending on the activated route. It reduces the loading time mainly by dividing the application into several bundles. The app will load these bundles as you navigate through them instead of loading them at once. 

6. Track Changes with Angular Differs API

You might often need to find out the changes you have made in Angular. Many people might be unaware that they can do that with the Angular Differs API. After all, this feature is not talked about much and remains comparably unknown as a result. It is yet another great feature in Angular that can be quite useful to you. 

The “IterableDiffer” option shows you all the changes to the iterable and exposes methods to react to them. You must use the “KeyValueDiffers” option to view any changes to the object. Like the previous option, it also exposes methods of reacting to the changes. 

7. Use State Management to Deal with API Calls

You would often need to deal with asynchronous API calls while coding with Angular. The state management process can help you significantly with that task. You can use the Angular Reactive Extensions (NgRx) to manage your API calls. This will allow you to debug the data flow in your developed apps. You can also use the NgRx to split API call management from other codes. 

8. Detect Bugs with Writing Tests

Angular users might not want to run writing tests as they can be quite time-consuming. However, you must keep in mind that these tests are helpful in detecting any bugs. Now, that will reduce the number of bugs, even if it does not remove them completely. Apart from that, they can speed up the app development process for you. Following this practice can make it easier for you to compare the old and new functions. 

9. Avoid the “Scroll” Event

Angular features many predefined actions that occur due to user activity called events. You can also define some events as per your requirements. The “scroll” event can trigger a vast range of function executions when someone scrolls through the app. However, it can also affect the performance of the web application you develop. So, you might want to avoid this even to ensure a good performance and user experience.

10. Detect Specific Changes Using OnPush

Angular will detect all changes by default, but you command it to show only specific ones. The OnPush strategy allows you to view specific changes using the command line. All you need to do is add a line to the CLI (Command Line Interface). Many people might want to view only the changes to the input in Angular. The OnPush strategy can help you if you want to do the same. 

This is one of the essential coding practices in Angular to enhance performance. It will also offer you a higher degree of control when it comes to change detection. 

11. Creating “index.ts” Files

Are you developing a big web application? If yes, you might need to export and import quite a lot of data. In that case, you would want to create one source of truth for the exports. Creating an “index.ts” file is essential for doing that on Angular. It will allow you to export all the exports into a single file. 

12. Do not include Multiple Functions in One File

You would want your Angular code to be readable, manageable and clean. So, make sure not to add a component, service or directive more than once in a file. Now, that way, every file would have only one function regardless of the number of files. You can make your Angular code maintainable by following this practice. 

Not following this can have the opposite effect on your code and result in various issues. So, you must add it to your essential Angular coding practices if you have not already. 

13. Use Optional Chaining

Most Angular users might know the optional chaining feature as a safe navigation operator. So, they are the same, and you must not confuse them as separate features. Optional chaining can help you resolve the “cannot read property of undefined” error. You will surely face this error if you have not already. The only way to prevent this error on Angular is by enabling the safe navigation operator. 

Optional chaining will prevent various other critical errors in your Angular code. It can also predict errors at the time of execution that might not have occurred yet. 

14. Enable TypeScript Strict Mode for Better Coding

The latest version of Angular comes with the TypeSCript strict mode enabled by default. So, you would have to enable this feature manually unless you had turned it off. You must input the value “true” next to “strict” to enable it manually. Doing this will enforce a specific set of methods for writing the code. As a result, you would not have to worry about making any mistakes. 

15. Name the Files Appropriately

Do you use the Angular command line for file creation? If yes, you need not worry about naming the files at all. After all, Angular has a default naming convention for the files you create. In the case of manual creation, the developers have laid down a convention for naming. Following Angular’s file name convention will help you easily recognise the files. It will also make finding and grouping the files simpler for you. 

“[name].[role].[extension]” is the convention that Angular developers have set for among the files. You can hyphenate the name, role, or extension if they contain multiple words. So, if the name section has multiple words, you must write it as [xyz-pqr-abc]. 

16. Enable ESLint

The linter is a plugin featured in Angular that enforces a set of code writing rules. You must enable some versions of Angular to be able to use it. The 12th version does not come with this plugin, but you can add it using the command line. Enter “ng add @angular-eslint/schematics” to add ESLint if you are using this version. 

Enabling ESLint on Angular will apply one convention throughout the Angular app. It also allows an easy update or addition of rules for coding. You must enable this feature to find all problematic patterns in JavaSCript code. 

17. Do not Use Logic in Templates

Have you used logic in your Angular templates? You must avoid doing that further and extract any logic in the template to their components. Otherwise, you would fail to run unit tests on the templates in the app, which increases the risk of bugs whenever you try to change the template code. 

18. Declare a Set of Possible Values as the Type

Ensuring the safety of strings is a crucial practice while coding with Angular. Do you have a variable string that can have a set of possible values? Then, you must consider using the set of possible values as the type. This should prevent any code while you are writing the code. 

19. Do not Repeat Codes in the Codebase

You would want to make your codes as maintainable as possible. Not repeating them is one of the most important steps to do that. Have you repeated a code multiple times in the codebase? Extract it instead so that you do not have to make changes to the logic in many places when required. 

Repeating the codes also makes them prone to bugs, which can get quite difficult to deal with. You might fail to update the codes in all places in case of a bug. Try to minimise its repetitions if you cannot avoid them altogether.

20. Use the CDK Virtual Scroll

You must create a browser application that can display many elements efficiently. Adding CDK Virtual Scroll is crucial for that while coding with Angular. It makes the heights of the container elements and the number of elements displayed the same. As a result, your web application would render all the items in view. 

21. Take the Necessary Steps against Memory Leaks

Your device might face memory leaks while running Angular under various circumstances. So, you might have to take various steps to prevent this problem on your computer. You can use various tools and operators in the Angular command line interface to prevent memory leaks. 

Use the “async pipe” to significantly reduce the chances of a memory leak. The “takeUntill” operator can also help you with that task in many situations. You might also want to try out the “take(1)” operator to prevent memory leaks. However, you must remember that not all of them are suitable for all situations. 

22. Add Comments alongside Your Codes

You must always make sure to make the logic, intent and purpose of your code clear. Adding comments beside them is the best way to do that. Now, that might be quite helpful to other developers working with you, if there are any. This practice should make your code much more readable than usual. 

Make sure to document the role and use of each variable you have used. However, you must not add any unnecessary comments alongside your code. Doing so will only give you the opposite result than the one intended after all. 

23. Follow the Code Writing Principles

You must always follow the important and effective principles for writing code. These principles would be quite effective and helpful while creating your Angular app. You can remember the code writing principles with the help of their acronyms, as developers commonly do. These principles include SOC (separation of concerns), BDUF (big design up front), and DRY (don’t repeat yourself), among many others. 

Conclusion

All the aforementioned practices have been tried and tested, making them reliable. Not only that, but they have become essential for developing your web app on Angular. You can also find many other useful practices from those listed above by talking to an expert.