Is Angular versions scaring users?
Is there a scary feeling amongst Angular users when it comes to Angular versions? The Angular people put everything into version 2 of Angular and not AngularJS. At least, that is how it is addressed now. Angular JS is version1.X; Angular means the version 2 and above.
For instance, when Angular 2 was in alpha, the developer community was panicky as to whether if the new angular was well written and usable. Furthermore, there was going to be a change in the concepts of binding, data flow, routing, etc. This means hard work for those looking to upgrade from 1.X to version 2. And not surprisingly, the industry was still stuck with 1.6 because of not wanting to upgrade their applications.
There is still a creepy feeling about Angular releases, and that is why Google said it will have its next major versions released soon. And didn’t we think that there is something big that is gonna come? And whether we get to see the changes is another thing. If you already know about semantic versioning, here is how the angular version would work, for example:
- Patch 2.3.1 – No features, No Breaking Changes
- Minor 2.3.0 – New features, No Breaking Changes
- Major 3.0.0 – New features, Potential Breaking Changes
Now as seen in the example above, the patch releases are indicated by the last number meaning small bug fixes, etc; when it comes to new features, minus any breaking changes the 2nd no. in the version will get changed and changes in the 1st no. of the version denote breaking change releases.
Currently Angular 6 (at the time of writing this blog) uses TypeScript 2.7 and RxJS 6. Now, TS 2.7 has breaking changes to TS 2.6. Therefore, technically, if Angular upgrade itself from TS 2.6, it’s a breaking release, though there will not be necessarily any breaking changes. Upgrading the TS version can result in a major Angular version. But bugs? We never guarantee them.
The good news out here is that we can expect future angular releases with no drastic changes. That’s a bit of respite. Angular releases, of late, are now kind of disciplined and tightly scheduled with one patch a week, a monthly minor release and major version update twice in a year. Therefore, if you are a developer, you can plan and schedule the upgrade process suitably in your projects as you may already know when you need it. On a final note, Angular versions aren’t as scary as you think!
In 2022, angular's latest version is Angular 13. Know how this new features and updates help you for your project?
Jerin
Content Writer