Difference between React & Angular web-component: Discussion with chatGpt

Query:

In angular component I was using .html & .css/scss templates. No such thing yet I found in react web component?

ChatGPT said:

Correct observation 👍 — React doesn’t separate HTML and CSS into dedicated template files the way Angular does. Let’s unpack why:

---

🔹 Angular Component Structure

In Angular you usually have:

// product.component.ts
@Component({
  selector: 'app-product',
  templateUrl: './product.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./product.component.scss']
})
export class ProductComponent {
  ...
}

• HTML template → product.component.html

• CSS/SCSS → product.component.scss

• Logic → product.component.ts
  Angular enforces this 3-file structure (though inline templates/styles are also possible).

---

🔹 React Component Structure

In React, a component is just a function (or class) that returns JSX:

function Product() {
  return (
    <div className="product">
      <h2>My Product</h2>
    </div>
  );
}

• The markup (JSX) is inline inside the component.

• Styles can be:

  • Global CSS files (e.g., import './product.css')

  • CSS Modules (import styles from './product.module.css')

  • Inline styles (<div style={{ color: 'red' }}>)

  • Or CSS-in-JS libraries (styled-components, emotion, etc.)

So React intentionally doesn’t enforce external template/style files. You decide how to organize.

---

🔹 Key Differences

Aspect	Angular	React
Templates	.html external file (default)	JSX inline in JS file
Styles	.css/.scss external file (scoped by Angular)	Import CSS, CSS Modules, CSS-in-JS
Binding	Angular syntax ({{value}}, *ngFor)	JSX expressions ({value}, .map())
Enforcement	Strong separation of TS/HTML/CSS	Flexible, no enforced separation

---

🔹 Why React Does This

• React follows "components are just functions" philosophy.

• JSX combines markup + logic → easier to see UI and behavior in one place.

• Styles are flexible → you can keep them in .css files if you like Angular’s style, or use newer approaches (CSS modules, Tailwind, styled-components).

---

✅ Answer:
In React, there is no separate .html template file like Angular. Instead, you write JSX inside the component file and import CSS however you prefer.

---

👉 Do you want me to show you how to structure a React project the Angular way (separating JSX + CSS per component in separate files), so you get a familiar workflow?

You said:

Nice but in angular component I can use either template.html,.css/scss or inline Any way to use template way in React component also?

ChatGPT said:

Excellent question 👍 — you’re noticing that Angular gives you two modes (inline or separate template/style), while React defaults to inline JSX.

React does not have a first-class templateUrl/styleUrls mechanism like Angular — but you can absolutely mimic the “template file” style if you prefer separation.

---

🔹 Option 1: External JSX Template Function

Put your JSX in a separate file, then import it into your component.

Product.template.jsx

export default function ProductTemplate({ name, price }) {
  return (
    <div className="product">
      <h2>{name}</h2>
      <p>${price}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Product.jsx

import ProductTemplate from './Product.template';
import './Product.css';

export default function Product({ name, price }) {
  return ProductTemplate({ name, price });
}

This way you separate logic (Product.jsx) from view (Product.template.jsx) + style (Product.css).

---

🔹 Option 2: String Templates + JSX Parser (rarely used)

You can write HTML in a .html file and import it as a string, then use a library like dangerouslySetInnerHTML or JSX compilers.
Example:

Product.html

<div class="product">
  <h2>{{name}}</h2>
  <p>${{price}}</p>
</div>

Product.jsx

import template from './Product.html';

export default function Product({ name, price }) {
  return (
    <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: template
      .replace('{{name}}', name)
      .replace('{{price}}', price) }} />
  );
}

⚠️ Not idiomatic React → loses the benefits of JSX + type safety. But doable.

---

🔹 Option 3: Third-party Solutions

Some projects/libraries try to add Angular-like “external templates” to React:

• react-templates (compile .rt files into React components).

• Custom loaders in Webpack/Vite can allow .html templates to compile into JSX.

---

🔹 Option 4: Keep Familiar Separation Using CSS Modules + Components

Angular-like structure in React:

Product/
 ├─ Product.jsx      (logic + JSX)
 ├─ Product.css      (scoped styles)
 └─ index.js         (export)

This is the most common “Angular-feel” workflow in React land.

• Each component has its own folder.

• JSX is inline, but CSS is side-by-side.

• This keeps separation but uses React conventions.

---

✅ TL;DR:
React doesn’t natively support .html templates like Angular. But you can:

1. Split JSX into separate files (.template.jsx).

2. Use string-based .html + dangerouslySetInnerHTML (hacky).

3. Use libraries like react-templates.

4. Organize per-component folders with .jsx + .css for a familiar Angular-style separation.

---

👉 Do you want me to show you a minimal setup where each React component has .jsx + .html + .css (like Angular), with Vite/Webpack loader converting .html → JSX automatically?

You said:

Ok, so react dont support external template n css in its component. With some 3rd party it might be possible.

ChatGPT said:

Exactly ✅ — you’ve got it.

React’s design philosophy is:

• A component = one JS/TS function.

• UI is described with JSX (inline), not external .html files.

• CSS is just “whatever you want”: plain .css, CSS modules, Tailwind, CSS-in-JS, etc.

So unlike Angular, React does not ship with built-in support for templateUrl / styleUrls.

👉 If you really want external templates or CSS in the Angular style, you’d need:

• Custom loaders (Webpack/Vite plugins to import .html as JSX).

• Third-party libs like react-templates (compile HTML-like syntax into React).

• Or just adopt a project structure convention (e.g. one folder per component, with .jsx + .css side by side).

---

✅ Summary:
React = inline JSX by default.
External templates = possible, but only through custom tools or non-idiomatic hacks.
Most React devs prefer co-located JSX + CSS instead of splitting into .html.

---

Would you like me to show you a side-by-side comparison of the same component in Angular style (external template/scss) vs React style (JSX + CSS module) so you can see how they map?

You said:

Ok vanilla js can also create webcomponent. Does it supports template html, css as in angular or not? Give examples

ChatGPT said:

Yes ✅ — vanilla JavaScript Web Components actually do support external-looking template and style separation, but the mechanism is different from Angular.

Angular bakes the idea of templateUrl + styleUrls into its compiler.
Web Components rely on the <template> element and Shadow DOM.

---

🔹 1. Inline Template + CSS (typical Web Component)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <body>
    <user-card></user-card>

    <script>
      class UserCard extends HTMLElement {
        constructor() {
          super();
          const shadow = this.attachShadow({ mode: 'open' });

          shadow.innerHTML = `
            <style>
              .card {
                padding: 10px;
                border: 1px solid #ccc;
                border-radius: 5px;
                background: #f9f9f9;
              }
              h2 {
                color: darkblue;
              }
            </style>
            <div class="card">
              <h2>User Component</h2>
              <p>This is a custom element</p>
            </div>
          `;
        }
      }

      customElements.define('user-card', UserCard);
    </script>
  </body>
</html>

✅ Here, template + CSS are inline inside the component class (very similar to React inline JSX).

---

🔹 2. Using <template> Tag (separate but in same file)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <body>
    <template id="user-card-template">
      <style>
        .card {
          padding: 10px;
          border: 1px solid #ccc;
          border-radius: 5px;
          background: #f9f9f9;
        }
        h2 {
          color: darkblue;
        }
      </style>
      <div class="card">
        <h2>User Component</h2>
        <p>This is a custom element</p>
      </div>
    </template>

    <user-card></user-card>

    <script>
      class UserCard extends HTMLElement {
        constructor() {
          super();
          const template = document.getElementById('user-card-template');
          const shadow = this.attachShadow({ mode: 'open' });
          shadow.appendChild(template.content.cloneNode(true));
        }
      }

      customElements.define('user-card', UserCard);
    </script>
  </body>
</html>

✅ This is closer to Angular:

• The HTML template is written in a <template> tag.

• The component clones it into the Shadow DOM.

---

🔹 3. External Template & CSS Files

You can also load .html or .css files via fetch() and inject them:

user-card.html

<style>
  .card {
    padding: 10px;
    border: 1px solid #ccc;
    border-radius: 5px;
    background: #f9f9f9;
  }
  h2 {
    color: darkblue;
  }
</style>
<div class="card">
  <h2>User Component</h2>
  <p>This is loaded from external HTML</p>
</div>

main.js

class UserCard extends HTMLElement {
  constructor() {
    super();
    const shadow = this.attachShadow({ mode: 'open' });

    fetch('./user-card.html')
      .then(res => res.text())
      .then(html => {
        shadow.innerHTML = html;
      });
  }
}

customElements.define('user-card', UserCard);

✅ This is the closest to Angular’s templateUrl + styleUrls.

---

🔹 Comparison

• Angular → built-in templateUrl, styleUrls, automatically scoped styles.

• Vanilla Web Components → you can:

  • Inline (shadow.innerHTML)

  • Use <template>

  • Load external .html / .css manually

So vanilla JS Web Components can support external template & CSS — it’s just not automatic; you implement it yourself.