A Guide to Angular Signals With Practical Use Cases (Part 2)

Written by kzarman | Published 2023/09/04
Tech Story Tags: programming | web-development | angular | angular-signals | javascript | typescript | reactive-programming | software-development

TLDRAngular Signals can be used to manage user profile data and e-commerce cart updates. With Signals, user profile updates are instantaneously reflected. This avoids the need for manual subscription management or usage of async pipe. It also ensures the UI remains in sync with the profile data. In the next part of the series, we explore more real-world scenarios.via the TL;DR App

Welcome back! In the first part of this series, we uncovered the magic of Angular Signals, focusing on Form Management, Dynamic Theming, and Live Data Streams. Today, we’ll delve deeper, exploring more real-world scenarios where Angular Signals can be an indispensable tool.

1. User Profiles

Every application that features user interaction often has a dedicated user profile section displaying personal information, preferences, and activities.

User profile data can be efficiently managed using Angular Signals. Imagine a scenario where a user modifies their profile picture or updates their bio. With Angular Signals, only the affected components need to be updated, preventing unnecessary re-renders.

Handling User Profiles with Angular Signals

Conventionally, services combined with BehaviorSubject might manage user profile updates. However, by harnessing the power of Angular Signals, this can be more streamlined:

https://gist.github.com/nomadts/4c96fdcddd5b6247aab457eaec8ee6fa?embedable=true

Profile service utilizing Angular Signals

https://gist.github.com/nomadts/289f96f2e1d917fb31a10749def517e7?embedable=true

Profile component consuming user profile data stored in Angular Signal

What we achieve:

  • Profile Changes in Real-time: With Signals, user profile updates are instantaneously reflected.
  • Reactive Profile Component: Using Signal to directly bind the user profile data in our template. This avoids the need for manual subscription management or usage of async pipe and ensures the UI remains in sync with the profile data.
  • Simplified State Management: Managing the user profile becomes more straightforward with Angular Signals, as there’s no need to differentiate between initial and subsequent data loads — everything reacts automatically to the changes in the Signal.

To put it succinctly, Angular Signals brings agility and efficiency to managing user profiles, enhancing the user experience.

2. E-commerce Cart Management

In e-commerce applications, cart management is crucial, whether adding products, removing items, or updating quantities, ensuring real-time cart updates is vital for a seamless user journey.

With Angular Signals, you can efficiently manage and represent the state of the shopping cart. When the cart changes, only the pertinent components update.

E-commerce Cart Management with Angular Signals: Imagine a more efficient cart system with Angular Signals:

https://gist.github.com/nomadts/f99d2bd7f459e5fcce77d3e00815f104?embedable=true

Interfaces for shopping cart and cart items

https://gist.github.com/nomadts/e4b12d7f2b951e96e0ce46e487910d57?embedable=true

Cart service for managing shopping carts with Angular Signals

https://gist.github.com/nomadts/876633df9a3a61af0b630e2c2a747c9c?embedable=true

Component displaying shopping cart items

Highlighted Benefits:

  • Live Cart Updates: As users modify their cart, changes are instantly reflected, ensuring a seamless shopping experience.
  • Optimized Performance: Instead of reloading entire cart components, only the modified parts update.
  • Simplified State Management: Signals effortlessly handle the dynamic nature of shopping carts, simplifying development.

In essence, Angular Signals enhances e-commerce platforms by offering a nimble way to manage shopping carts, ensuring happy shopping sessions for users.

3. Notification Systems

Keeping users informed about updates, alerts, or messages is vital for enhancing user engagement.

Using Angular Signals, notification states can be managed seamlessly. When a new notification arrives or when a user interacts with one, only the relevant notification components need updating.

Notification Management with Angular Signals

Envision a more responsive notification system with Angular Signals:

https://gist.github.com/nomadts/bb145fd6a1cc948b1cf4064142bd0821?embedable=true

Notification service

https://gist.github.com/nomadts/881398d23b43899078af9ede2b462b5a?embedable=true

NotificationService stores all notifications in the notifications signal

https://gist.github.com/nomadts/f6fa288c88f12beb34d372d372abf0a1?embedable=true#file-notification-component-ts

Notification component directly accessing notification signal in the template.

Key Takeaways:

  • Instant Alerts: As notifications arrive, users are immediately alerted, ensuring they never miss an update.
  • Efficient Updates: Only the new or modified notifications trigger updates, saving resources.
  • Cleaner Codebase: Signals bring clarity to the code, making it more maintainable.

Wrapping it up

Angular Signals has revamped the way notifications are handled, ensuring users are always in the loop without compromising on application performance.

And there we have it! We’ve journeyed through the vast landscapes of Angular Signals, discovering its potential in various real-world scenarios. As more developers immerse themselves in this realm, Angular Signals promises to be a beacon of efficiency, simplicity, and innovation. Until next time, let your code be ever-reactive and ever-agile. Happy coding!


Also published here.


Written by kzarman | Senior software engineer passioned about algorithms, data structures, and tech frameworks and tools
Published by HackerNoon on 2023/09/04