AngularJS End-of-Life - What Next?

When AngularJS was first launched in 2010 it was ground-breaking for web development. After more than a decade, millions of projects around the world still rely on this framework. AngularJS is still one of the most popular frontend frameworks today. In StackOverflow's 2021 survey which included responses from over 50,000 developers, nearly 13% said they are still using AngularJS.

AngularJS End-of-Life

On July 1, 2018, AngularJS entered its Long-term Support (LTS) period. The support was originally scheduled to end on June 30th, 2021.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on teams migrating from AngularJS, the Google team extended the LTS for another 6 months, until December 31st, 2021.

As of January 1st, 2022 AngularJS has reached End-of-Life. You can read more about it on the official Angular blog in Discontinued Long Term Support for AngularJS. For those who are still using this framework, it will have a profound impact on their development and support plans. AngularJS will not receive patches for security vulnerabilities or breaking issues caused by new browser releases.

What if you are still using AngularJS?

Now that AngularJS has reached its End-of-Life, AngularJS applications will continue to function, at least until the next breaking browser change happens.

Nevertheless, using old versions of the framework is critical to the security of your application and your user's data. Since security patches will no longer be provided by Google, your business and your customers may be vulnerable to new / previously unknown security threats. Before a major vulnerability is disclosed to the public or there is an announcement that it is being exploited in the wild, you will need to have a mitigation plan in place.

What options do you have?

Get up to date

If your project is based on an older version of AngularJS, consider upgrading to AngularJS 1.8.2. The latest version of AngularJS improves security, imposes a component-based architecture, fixes a few bugs and will make the process of migrating to modern Angular much faster. If you aren't on AngularJS 1.8.0, or later, then your application and your users are already exposed to a range of security vulnerabilities, including Cross-site Scripting (XSS) attacks. Get protected now, by updating to the latest AngularJS version, if you haven't already done so!

Extend your support

You can get Extended Long-term Support via XLTS for AngularJS from XLTS.dev. This will allow you to continue developing or maintaining your application while using supported software. This means that you will receive fixes for security vulnerabilities and breakages to browsers or jQuery when they occur. If you have regulatory or other compliance obligations, this can help you stay compliant and get the customer approvals that your business needs.

Hybrid application migration

If you're ready to start migrating your legacy AngularJS application to modern Angular, a good first step is to refactor your application step-by-step, module by module, creating a hybrid AngularJS/Angular application. Using this hybrid approach minimizes risk since small chunks of your existing application can be migrated and tested. Using the ngUpgrade tool, you can mix and match AngularJS and Angular code in the same application and ensure their smooth cooperation.

Rewriting from scratch

If your current AngularJS application is small and the business logic and other requirements are well-documented, you may be able to perform a full re-write in a modern framework (e.g. Angular, React, Vue, etc.) without running into major issues. A full rewrite is a riskier approach for large or medium-sized applications. Careful planning, selection of the right tools/technologies, and building a team with the right skill-sets is necessary to avoid broken/missing functionality, costly delays, or even complete project failure.

Still unsure? In need of expert assistance?

If you require expert assistance or are unsure how to identify the best solution for your project, DevIntent has the expertise to help. Contact us at consulting@devintent.com to get in touch. We have worked with many enterprise and mid-sized companies since 2013 to help them update and migrate their AngularJS 1.x based applications. We can help make your Angular or AngularJS project a success.

Are you an experienced AngularJS developer?

We are hiring! As part of the DevIntent team, you’ll get to work with current and former members of the Angular team, as well as other experts from the Angular Community.

Apply today at careers@devintent.com to join us in moving the Angular community forward from AngularJS.