Development Environment Setup

Before diving into coding, it's important to set up your development environment. First, you need to install Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager), which are essential for running and managing Angular projects. Visit the Node.js website, download the latest version, and follow the installation instructions.

Once Node.js and npm are installed, you can install the Angular CLI (Command Line Interface). Angular CLI is a very useful one, which allows you to generate projects, fill your projects with necessary files, and complete many development tasks. A developer needs to open a terminal or command prompt and then run the following command:

npm install -g @angular/cli

This installs the Angular CLI globally on your system, allowing you to access it from anywhere in your command line. If you're looking to scale your project or need professional assistance, you might consider the option to hire Angular developers who can help optimize and enhance your application.

Creating Your First Angular Application

With the Angular CLI installed, creating your first application is straightforward. In your command line, navigate to the folder where you want your project to be located and run:

ng new my-angular-app

The CLI will prompt you with a few questions regarding the features you’d like to include in your project, such as routing and stylesheet formats. Once you make your selections, Angular CLI will set up a new project for you.

Exploring the Project Structure

After creating your project, navigate to your project directory:

cd my-angular-app

Here, you will find several files and folders:

• src/: Contains your source files and application logic.
• app/: Inside src, this folder contains the app component.
• assets/: Used for static files like images, icons, etc.
• environments/: Includes configuration files for different environments like development and production.
• angular.json: Angular CLI configuration file.
• package.json: Lists dependencies and project metadata.

Spend a little bit of time examining these sections and try to remember all the details. It will be simpler for you as you start to form a system to get geared into it with the concept of where everything is.

Building a Simple Component

Angular apps are built using components. Each component controls a part of the screen called a view. If you want to create a new component, you need to use the Angular CLI:

ng generate component hello-world

This command generates a new component named hello-world and includes four files in a new folder within the app directory. The main files are:

• hello-world.component.ts: The component class file, where you define your logic.
• hello-world.component.html: The HTML template file, where you write your HTML.
• hello-world.component.css: The CSS file for styling your component.

Open hello-world.component.html and add the following HTML:

pHello, world!/p

Serving Your Application

To see your application in action, run the following command in your terminal:

ng serve

This command builds your application and starts a web server. Open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost:4200. You should see "Hello, world!" displayed on the page.

Conclusion

The development of Angular application from scratch is not a complicated task as it may seem to you, moreover, Angular CLI helps you to go through all the required steps. Using just some commands, you'll handle everything including setting your environment, components creation, and application serving.