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Component Templates

In Angular, each component has an associated HTML template and styles. The template combined with the component's class defines a view. Together, the component's class and template form a view of your application and help Angular to render it. This article will guide you through the basics of component templates in Angular.

What is a Component Template?​

Component templates in Angular are a major part of the framework's functionality. A template is a form of HTML tags that tells Angular how to render the component. It is essentially a combination of elements that specify what will be seen on the screen.

In Angular, templates are written with HTML that contains Angular-specific elements and attributes. Angular templates can include binding syntax which will be discussed in depth later on.

How to Define a Component Template​

A component template can be defined in one of two ways:

  1. Inline: The template content is directly placed in the component's TypeScript file within the @Component decorator using the template property.
@Component({
  selector: 'app-example',
  template: `<h1>Hello, World!</h1>`
})
export class ExampleComponent {}
  1. External File: The template content is placed in a separate HTML file and linked to the component's TypeScript file within the @Component decorator using the templateUrl property.
@Component({
  selector: 'app-example',
  templateUrl: './example.component.html'
})
export class ExampleComponent {}

Template Expressions and Statements​

A template expression produces a value and appears within the double curly braces, {{ }}. Angular executes the expression and assigns it to a property of a binding target; the target could be an HTML element, a component, or a directive.

A template statement responds to an event raised by a binding target such as an HTML element, a component, or a directive. The statements are placed within parentheses (), and you can execute more than one statement within the parentheses.

<button (click)="isClicked = !isClicked">{{isClicked ? 'Clicked!' : 'Click me!'}}</button>

Data Binding​

Data binding is a technique to link your data to your view layer. By binding a variable, you can make your app interactive. Angular provides several ways to bind data including:

  1. Interpolation ({{ }}): Lets you incorporate calculated strings into the text between HTML element tags and within attribute assignments.

  2. Property Binding ([property]="value"): Helps you set a property of an HTML element to a value.

  3. Event Binding ((event)="statement"): Lets your app respond to user input in the target environment by updating your application data.

  4. Two-way Binding ([(ngModel)]="property"): Lets you share data between a class and its template, and vice versa.

Conclusion​

In Angular, the component template is a crucial concept. It allows developers to define how a component should be rendered in the UI. It also allows developers to bind data and events to DOM properties and events, respectively.

Remember, a component template is a combination of HTML, Angular directives, and Angular binding syntax that define how the component's view should be rendered.

In the next steps of your Angular journey, you will learn more about the Angular directives and the Angular binding syntax. For now, understanding component templates is a great step forward. Practice using them and you'll quickly see how they make building complex applications much easier.