Angular - 1.3 Angularjs VS Angular

One thing that can confuse newcomers to Angular is the sheer number of versions in existence. In this lesson, we clarify the different versions, how they relate, and whether each major version brings massive changes — short answer: no, not really. The first release, Angular 1, came out on October 20, 2010, and was a big deal at the time. However, it had some performance limitations on larger applications.

Angular 1 is now called AngularJS. If you see people on Reddit, GitHub, or StackOverflow talking about AngularJS, they mean Angular 1, which is completely different from the Angular version you'll learn in this course. Angular 2, released in 2016, was a complete rewrite from scratch, with a totally different architecture, to address the issues of v1.

Why so many versions?

  • Angular 2 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7 → 8 → 9 (current at recording time, today Angular 21+)
  • Angular 3 was skipped for internal versioning reasons
  • Since Angular 2, a new major version ships every 6 months — but they are NOT rewrites
  • Most changes happen under the hood: smaller projects, better performance, new features added without breaking existing code

So we end up with two distinct things: AngularJS (a separate, legacy framework), and Angular — version 2 and all subsequent versions, which we simply call "Angular". Nobody bothers citing the version because it changes every 6 months anyway, and the framework remains the same. This course covers the modern Angular, recent version. Whether you're on Angular 9, 10, 11, or any later version, the concepts you'll learn here will be virtually identical — only small, backward-compatible improvements separate the versions.

Summary

AngularJS (Angular 1), released October 20, 2010, suffered from performance issues on large applications. Angular 2, released in 2016, represents a complete framework rewrite with fundamentally different architecture and functionality. Since Angular 2, the framework follows a 6-month release cycle with versions 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and beyond (version 3 was skipped), but modern versions focus on incremental improvements rather than major rewrites, keeping syntax and core behavior largely unchanged from Angular 2.

Key points

  • AngularJS (Angular 1) released October 20, 2010, but had performance problems with larger applications
  • Angular 2 (2016) is a complete rewrite with fundamentally different architecture and operation from Angular 1
  • Since Angular 2, new versions are released every 6 months (Angular 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc.), but these are incremental improvements, not major rewrites
  • Modern Angular versions maintain backward compatibility with minimal breaking changes between releases
  • Angular 9 is virtually identical to Angular 2 in terms of syntax and core functionality
  • This course covers modern Angular (version 2+), which remains essentially the same across recent versions

FAQ

What is the difference between AngularJS and Angular?

AngularJS (Angular 1) and Angular (2+) are completely different frameworks. Angular 2, released in 2016, is a total rewrite designed to address performance issues in AngularJS and features fundamentally different architecture and functionality.

Why does Angular have so many versions?

Since Angular 2, the development team releases a new version every 6 months. However, these versions are not complete rewrites like the Angular 1 to Angular 2 transition. They focus on incremental improvements under the hood, performance enhancements, and new features.

Is Angular 9 significantly different from Angular 2?

No. Angular 9 is virtually identical to Angular 2 in terms of syntax and core framework functionality. Updates between versions are backward compatible and focus on performance improvements and new features without breaking existing code.