What is the difference between template-driven and reactive forms?

Template-driven forms rely on directives and HTML templates, while reactive forms use explicit, programmatic control of the form model and validation.

What are Angular Forms | FullStackPrep.Dev

Q: What are Angular forms?

Angular forms provide a structured way to capture and validate user input, using either template-driven or reactive approaches.

💡 Concept Name

Angular Forms – A set of tools and APIs provided by Angular to build and manage forms with validation, input tracking, and data-binding.

📘 Quick Intro

Angular supports two types of forms: Template-driven (declarative and easy to use) and Reactive forms (programmatic and scalable). Both approaches allow binding user input to form data and applying validations.

🧠 Analogy / Short Story

Imagine a paper form: You can either fill it directly (template-driven) or have software autofill and validate each section (reactive). Angular gives you both options to manage forms in web apps.

🔧 Technical Explanation

📄 Template-driven forms use Angular directives like ngModel.
🧠 Reactive forms use FormControl, FormGroup, and FormBuilder.
🔍 Support for built-in and custom validators.
🔄 Real-time validation and status tracking.
📦 FormsModule and ReactiveFormsModule are required to use forms.

🎯 Purpose & Use Case

✅ Capturing user input (login, signup, contact forms).
✅ Validating and processing data before submitting.
✅ Displaying validation messages and input feedback.
✅ Dynamically building forms based on data models.

💻 Real Code Example

// Reactive Form Example
import { FormGroup, FormControl, Validators } from '@angular/forms';

loginForm = new FormGroup({
  email: new FormControl('', [Validators.required, Validators.email]),
  password: new FormControl('', Validators.required)
});

onSubmit() {
  console.log(this.loginForm.value);
}

❓ Interview Q&A

Q1: What are the two types of forms in Angular?
A: Template-driven and Reactive forms.

Q2: What module is required for template-driven forms?
A: FormsModule.

Q3: What are FormGroup and FormControl?
A: Classes used in reactive forms to group and manage controls.

Q4: How does Angular support form validation?
A: Through built-in and custom validators.

Q5: Which approach is preferred for large-scale applications?
A: Reactive forms for better control and scalability.

📝 MCQs

Q1. Which Angular module supports template-driven forms?

ReactiveFormsModule
FormsModule
BrowserModule
HttpClientModule

Q2. Which is used in reactive forms?

ngModel
FormGroup
ngForm
ngSubmit

Q3. Which form approach uses ngModel?

Reactive
Dynamic
Template-driven
Event-driven

Q4. What is FormControl used for?

To style forms
To submit forms
To manage value and validation of a form field
To create templates

Q5. What is required for reactive forms?

FormsModule
ReactiveFormsModule
CommonModule
NgModule

Q6. Which form approach is easier for beginners?

Reactive
Template-driven
Dynamic
Stateless

Q7. How does Angular track form validity?

Using ngModel
Using console logs
Using form status properties
Using decorators

Q8. What does a FormGroup contain?

One FormControl
Multiple FormControls
A template
A directive

Q9. Which directive is used for template-driven form validation?

ngSubmit
ngControl
ngModel
ngGroup

Q10. Which is a built-in Angular validator?

Validators.length
Validators.validate
Validators.required
Validators.set

💡 Bonus Insight

You can combine both approaches (reactive + template) in complex forms using the ControlValueAccessor interface to build reusable form components.

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What are Angular Forms