Google has released Angular 4.0.0 as the latest update to its JavaScript framework. The new release is aimed to make Angular applications smaller and faster with several view engine improvements.
“In this release, we deliver on our promise to make Angular applications smaller and faster. By no means are we done yet, and you will see us being focused on making further improvements in the coming months,” Stephen Fluin, a developer advocate for Angular for Google, in a blog post.
The first update in the Angular 4 series includes view engine changes to reduce the size of the generated code for components by 60 percent. Similarly, the new version is touted to drop production bundles by hundreds to kilobytes.
Angular 4 also separates animations out of @angular/core and shifts them into their own package. The even helps in reducing production bundles and lets you find documentation stored with ease.
Upgraded experience
Google’s team has provided support for improved *nglf and *ngFor syntax. The update also includes an up-to-date Universal that gives you the access to run Angular on a server. You can find the Universal code in the ‘platform-server’ directory.
The fourth big Angular release additionally includes TypeScript 2.1 and 2.2 compatibility and improve the speed of ngc as well as offers better type checking across your application.
Easy update process
Fluin highlights in the post that updating to the fourth release is “as easy as updating your Angular dependencies to the latest version.” Furthermore, Google is developing an interactive Angular Update Guide to provide all the necessary details related to upgradation.
Next release in six months
In last December, Google announced its process of setting up the roadmap for every next six months. Thus, its engineers have already started working on the 4.1 release that would have an even reduced footprint. The update is also expected to include improvements to @angular/http, @angular/service-worker, and @angular/language-service.
