Reactive and Template Forms In Angular

Angular provides two types of forms: reactive forms and template-driven forms. Both serve the purpose of capturing user input and validating it before it is submitted to the server.

Reactive Forms

Reactive forms, also known as model-driven forms, are more robust and scalable. They are built using the FormBuilder service to create form controls and group them into form groups. Reactive forms give you more control over form validation and submission, and are ideal for complex forms with dynamic requirements.

To create a reactive form in Angular, you can use the following HTML tags and Angular directives:

<form [formGroup]="myForm" (ngSubmit)="onSubmit()">
  <label for="name">Name:</label>
  <input type="text" formControlName="name">
  <div *ngIf="myForm.get('name').invalid && myForm.get('name').touched" class="error">
    Please enter a valid name
  </div>

  <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

Template-driven Forms

Template-driven forms rely on directives in the template to create and manage form controls. They are easier to use and require less code, making them suitable for simple forms with static requirements.

To create a template-driven form in Angular, you can use the following HTML tags and Angular directives:

<form #myForm="ngForm" (ngSubmit)="onSubmit()">
  <label for="name">Name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="name" name="name" ngModel required>
  <div *ngIf="myForm.controls.name.invalid && myForm.controls.name.touched" class="error" >
    Please enter a valid name
  </div>

  <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

Conclusion

Both reactive and template-driven forms have their strengths and weaknesses. As a beginner in Angular, it is important to understand the differences between the two and choose the appropriate approach based on the specific requirements of your application.

Whether you choose to use reactive forms or template-driven forms, Angular provides a robust and feature-rich framework for building and validating forms.