Overview
Angular 8 is a significant release by Google's Angular team, focusing on improving the developer experience and enhancing the platform's performance. Introduced in May 2019, Angular 8 brought several key features and updates, such as differential loading for browsers, dynamic imports for lazy routes, and improvements in the CLI and web worker support. Understanding these features is crucial for developers working with Angular, as they can significantly affect application efficiency and development practices.
Key Concepts
- Differential Loading: A strategy to serve different JavaScript bundles to modern and legacy browsers for better performance.
- Dynamic Imports for Lazy Routes: Enables the use of dynamic import syntax to declare lazy-loaded routes, improving code-splitting and load times.
- CLI and Builders API Enhancements: Enhancements in the Angular CLI and the introduction of the Builders API, allowing for more customization and optimization in the build process.
Common Interview Questions
Basic Level
- What are the major features introduced in Angular 8?
- How do you enable differential loading in Angular 8?
Intermediate Level
- Explain the significance of dynamic imports for lazy routes in Angular 8.
Advanced Level
- Discuss the improvements made to the Angular CLI and Builders API in Angular 8 and their impact on development.
Detailed Answers
1. What are the major features introduced in Angular 8?
Answer: Angular 8 introduced several key features aimed at improving the performance and developer experience. These include:
- Differential Loading: Automatically generating two bundles for legacy (ES5) and modern browsers (ES2015+), optimizing load times and performance.
- Dynamic Imports for Lazy Routes: Using the dynamic import() syntax for lazy-loaded routes, which simplifies and enhances code splitting.
- CLI and Builders API Enhancements: Updates to the Angular CLI and the introduction of the Builders API, offering more control over build and deployment processes.
Key Points:
- Differential loading improves application performance.
- Dynamic imports make lazy loading routes more efficient.
- CLI and Builders API updates offer greater customization and optimization capabilities.
Example:
// This is an Angular topic, so providing C# examples is not applicable. Angular code snippets are typically in TypeScript.
2. How do you enable differential loading in Angular 8?
Answer: Differential loading is enabled by default in Angular 8 when you create a new project using the Angular CLI. It automatically generates two builds for modern and legacy browsers, optimizing load times. For existing projects upgraded to Angular 8, ensure your tsconfig.json targets ES2015, and the Angular CLI will handle the rest.
Key Points:
- Enabled by default for new Angular 8+ projects.
- Ensure tsconfig.json targets ES2015 for upgraded projects.
- No additional steps required; Angular CLI handles configuration.
Example:
// This question pertains to configuration settings and the build process, not directly involving code snippets. Angular configurations are not written in C#.
3. Explain the significance of dynamic imports for lazy routes in Angular 8.
Answer: Dynamic imports for lazy routes in Angular 8 allow developers to use the ECMAScript dynamic import() syntax for lazy loading modules. This feature simplifies the syntax and enhances code-splitting capabilities, leading to improved application load times and performance.
Key Points:
- Simplifies lazy loading syntax with dynamic import().
- Enhances code-splitting, improving app performance.
- Reduces initial load time by loading modules only when needed.
Example:
// Angular examples should be in TypeScript, not C#.
4. Discuss the improvements made to the Angular CLI and Builders API in Angular 8 and their impact on development.
Answer: Angular 8 introduced significant improvements to the Angular CLI and introduced the Builders API. These enhancements allow developers to customize and control the build and deployment processes more finely. The Builders API enables creating custom builders for tasks like deployment, linting, and unit tests, offering more flexibility and control over these processes.
Key Points:
- Angular CLI enhancements streamline development tasks.
- The Builders API provides a powerful way to customize and extend the Angular build process.
- These improvements offer greater control and flexibility, positively impacting development workflows.
Example:
// Angular development concepts do not directly translate to C# code examples.
Note: All code examples and specific Angular features are discussed in the context of Angular and TypeScript, as C# is not used within Angular frameworks.
