Angular Universal vs React: What are the differences?

Introduction: Angular Universal and React are two popular frameworks used for building dynamic web applications. While both have their strengths and weaknesses, there are key differences that make each framework unique.

1. Rendering: Angular Universal provides server-side rendering out of the box, which helps with improving SEO and performance by pre-rendering the initial page on the server. React, on the other hand, primarily focuses on client-side rendering, allowing for dynamic updates without full page reloads.

2. Language: Angular is developed using TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript that adds static typing and other features, while React uses JavaScript or JSX for building components. This difference in language choice may influence developers based on their familiarity and preferences.

3. Component Structure: Angular follows a more structured component architecture, with controllers, services, and directives being separate entities. React, however, promotes a more functional approach to building components, treating them as pure functions that render UI based on input.

4. Data Binding: Angular offers two-way data binding by default, meaning changes in the model are automatically reflected in the view and vice versa. React, on the contrary, utilizes a unidirectional data flow where data changes flow from parent to child components, making it easier to understand and debug the application.

5. Community and Ecosystem: React has a larger and more vibrant community with extensive support and a plethora of libraries and tools available for development. Angular, being backed by Google, also has a strong community, but it may not be as vast as React's ecosystem.

6. Learning Curve: Angular, with its opinionated structure and comprehensive documentation, can have a steeper learning curve for beginners due to its myriad of concepts and features. React, with its more lightweight and flexible nature, may be easier to grasp initially for developers who prefer a simpler approach to building applications.

In Summary, Angular Universal's server-side rendering and TypeScript language differ from React's client-side rendering and JavaScript/JSX language, alongside variances in component structure, data binding, community support, and learning curve.