AngularJS as an Introduction to Programming

Abstract

Over the course of this summer, I worked as a programming intern at BASIC, a human resources solutions company. One of my projects required that I learn AngularJS, a Javascript framework written to assist in the creation of web applications. I was struck by Angular’s core concepts, as well as the resources available to learn it. After this experience, I decided to evaluate Angular with the intention of discussing its use as a tool to introduce others to programming and web development. In recent years, Javascript has undergone a transformation, resulting in a strong culture of open source Javascript tools written for developers. In this context, I also discuss the importance of learning Javascript as a programming language, not only for use in webpages. In order to do this, I apply the principles of Angular to the activities of CS105: Introduction to Computer Science, which is Kalamazoo College’s gateway course to the Computer Science department, to demonstrate how it could be incorporated into its curriculum. (At the time of this writing, Angular 2 is currently in beta, bringing a complete rewrite of Angular 1. According to members of the Angular team, Angular 2 bears little resemble to its predecessor. In the face of skepticism of this next version, the team has also made it clear that support for Angular 1 will continue. There also exists a means to migrate Angular 1 code to Angular 2 using ng-Upgrade. Over this summer, I worked with Angular 1.4, so it is used as the basis of this paper’s discussion.) Administrator only at request of department.