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Routing and Navigation

In Angular, routing is a critical element of any application’s architecture. It enables users to move from one view to another as they perform tasks. This tutorial will focus on providing a clear understanding of how Angular routing and navigation works, by covering the basic concepts, configuration, and methods.

The Role of Routing and Navigation​

In a typical Angular application, the view layer consists of components. A component is a self-contained unit that has a specific functionality. However, to create a fully functional web application, these components need to be interactively connected. That’s where Angular’s routing and navigation comes in. It allows users to navigate between different components, often with the help of a navigation bar or menu.

Understanding the Router​

Angular's Router is a powerful tool that lets you configure and manage navigation from one view to the next. It interprets a browser URL as an instruction to navigate to a client-generated view and enables you to define navigation paths among your application's components.

Configuring Routes​

Before you can use the router, you need to configure it with routes. These routes are metadata objects that tell the router how to construct the URL and what view to render. 

const routes: Routes = [
  { path: 'first-component', component: FirstComponent },
  { path: 'second-component', component: SecondComponent },
  //...
];

In this example, we have defined two routes to two different components. The path is a string that matches the URL in the browser address bar. The component is a TypeScript class name of the component to render for that particular path.

Router Outlet​

The Router Outlet is a directive from the router library that acts as a placeholder for the view of the current route. It's like a viewport where the Router inserts the component of the current route.

<router-outlet></router-outlet>

The Router Link is another directive that is used to link to routes declaratively. When the link is clicked, the Router performs the navigation process, and the associated component view gets rendered inside the Router Outlet.

<a routerLink="/first-component">First Component</a>
<a routerLink="/second-component">Second Component</a>

Router Service​

The Router service provides navigation methods that enable imperative navigation. This means you can trigger navigation without the need for routerLink.

constructor(private router: Router) { }

navigateToFirstComponent() {
  this.router.navigate(['/first-component']);
}

Conclusion​

In essence, routing in Angular is about managing the state of the application and linking that state to the URL in the browser’s address bar. Having a solid understanding of routing and navigation is vital when it comes to building Angular applications, as it enables you to create applications that are easy to use and navigate.

This tutorial covered the basics of routing and navigation. However, Angular's routing has many more features to explore, such as Route Guards, Nested Routes, and Lazy Loading. As you continue to learn and grow as an Angular developer, you'll find these features essential in creating complex, feature-rich applications.