ANGULAR 101

Scott Mathson
@smathson
http://smathson.github.io

WHAT IS ANGULAR?

Toolset for building web applications
Model-View-Whatever
Decoupled DOM manipulation and app logic
Declarative templating via custom HTML tags
Non-opinionated model (POJOs)
Loosely coupled via Dependency Injection
Highly testable

BOOTSTRAPPING &
TWO-WAY BINDING

THIS IS NOT MAGIC!
Angular watches the model and updates the DOM
$digest loop: dirty-check - Angular decides when

BUILT-IN DIRECTIVES

ng-app - designate root element and bootstrap app
ng-bind - evaluate expression and replace content
ng-model - bind control value to scope variable
ng-class - dynamically set CSS class of element
ng-click - specify behavior on element click
ng-show - show element when expression is true
ng-hide - hide element when expression is true
ng-repeat - iterate over collection creating new
template for each item

EXPRESSIONS & FILTERS

Inside bindings {{ }} or as an attribute value:
```
 {{ foo }} or <div ng-bind="foo />
```

No logic besides binary and ternary operators:

 {{ foo && bar }}  {{ bar || baz }}  {{ foo ? bar : baz }}

Can be piped through filters (lowercase, date, etc)
```
 {{ foo | lowercase }}
```
Can create custom filters to keep markup clean:

.filter('filterName', function() {
  return function(input) {
    // do work
    return output;
  }
});

CONTROLLERS & SCOPE

Scope: application model that will be exposed
to the view and evaluated for changes (view model)
All new scopes inherit from parent scope or $rootScope
Controller: object that manages scope state an adds
behavior to the scope
Can be assigned declaratively in the view (ng-controller)
Or linked to a view template via the $route service
Defined via:

.controller('controllerName', function($scope) {
  // controller definition
});

DEPENDENCY INJECTION

Allows you to define components by name, define
their dependencies and then request them by
name as a dependency of another component
DI system handles lifecycle of components and
dependency resolution

By name (not minifier-safe):

.factory('foo', function(fooService) {
});

With annotation (minifier-safe):

.factory('foo', ['fooService', function(fooService) {
}]);

Build tools like ngmin will do annotation for you

SERVICES

Lazily instantiated singleton objects for sharing
logic/state throughout the app:

.factory('fooService', function($http) {
  var fooService = {
    // some behavior here using $http
  };

  return fooService;
});

Great for containing business logic/server interaction
Separation of Concerns: controller deals with view
state and behavior and depends on services for work
Combined with Dependency Injection, easy to mock
during testing and test components in isolation

DIRECTIVES

This is where the DOM manipulation happens!

Define new HTML tags or attributes with behavior:

.directive('myAwesomeThing', function() {
  return {
    restrict: 'A',
    template: '<div>{{ thing }}</div>',
    link: function(scope, element, attr) {
      // custom behavior and DOM manipulation here
    }
  }
}

And use them in your views:
```
 <div my-awesome-thing="thing">
```
Test complicated DOM manipulation in isolation!

NEXT STEPS

Greater depth with each concept in bite-sized vids:

https://egghead.io/

Learn how to organize and build an app:

Learn about the module system for grouping components and managing dependencies:

https://docs.angularjs.org/guide/module

Learn about $router and the ng-view directive:

https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ngRoute

Check out AngularUI:

http://angular-ui.github.io/

QUESTIONS?

https://github.com/smathson/ng-intro

ANGULAR 101

By Scott Mathson

ANGULAR 101

2,123

Scott Mathson