Learn Angular using the jQuery you already know

This migration cookbook serves as a kind of "Rosetta Stone" between jQuery and Angular. It contains over 60 recipes you can instantly use to learn idiomatic Angular. These bite-size solutions will help jQuery developers by comparing the jQuery library (v1.x) to equivalent concepts in the Angular toolkit (v1.x). Note that the recipes in this book do not cover Angular 2.0, as the API will most likely change between now, and when it becomes available. 

Nearly 50 Million Websites Use jQuery

jQuery is currently the world's most popular JavaScript library with approximately 50 million websites using it. However, that number is falling as developers build more and more complex web applications. A solid front-end framework, which provides more than cross-browser DOM manipulation is essential for modern websites. These sites are turning to Angular and similar tools that provide more robust architectures.

Over 200,000 Websites Use Angular

In contrast, the number of sites using Angular is growing rapidly. There is no doubt that Angular is a rising star in the front-end web development community. The toolset provides a solid foundation for building ambitious web applications that are maintainable and scale.

The Goal of This Book

This book is designed to help developers proficient with jQuery transition to the AngularJS toolset. Its purpose is not to convince you of the merits of Angular. Rather, I assume you have decided that given your application context, it would be beneficial for you to migrate from jQuery to Angular.

There are a several factors that will help you decide whether or not to use Angular. First consider where you want to put your application logic, server-side or client-side. The more things you need to push down to the client, the more likely Angular will better fit your needs.

Some questions to ask yourself: Are you creating a single page application where URL-to-resource routing is in JavaScript, or do you want that server-side? Will you be merging data with templates on the server, on the client or both? How important is it to you that your client-side code be testable? While it is possible to unit test jQuery code, the way most developers write nested callbacks tightly coupled to event handlers, does not lend itself readily to isolated testing. Finally, you need to decide if your team wants to embrace the declarative style of application development advocated by Angular. For example using the directive ng-click vs. $(elm).click(). Migrating from jQuery to Angular is a decision that you should carefully weigh, as it will most likely require a change in mindset.

Who This Book Is For

This book assumes a basic understanding of JavaScript programming and familiarity with jQuery. If you are unaccustomed to working with JavaScript, I suggest you get some of the basics under your belt first by reading a small book from Douglas Crockford called JavaScript the Good Parts.

Pedagogy of This Book

The migration recipes in this book are in a clear Problem, Solution, Discussion format you can instantly use to solve particular problems. Approximately one-third of this book compares complementary methods from the jQuery API with built-in functions provided in the Angular toolset. While the remaining two-thirds describe exactly how to migrate from a given imperative jQuery method to a declarative directive in Angular, and how to test it.

• Chapter 1, Effects
• Chapter 2, Element Value
• Chapter 3, Element Display
• Chapter 4, Element State
• Chapter 5, End-to-End Testing
• Chapter 6, Events
• Chapter 7, Remote Data
• Chapter 8, Unit Testing
• Chapter 9, Utilities
• Chapter 10, Validation