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Template-driven vs Reactive Forms in Angular

💡 Concept Name

Template-driven vs Reactive Forms – Two approaches provided by Angular to manage user forms. They differ in how the form structure and validation are implemented and managed.

📘 Quick Intro

Angular offers two distinct ways to handle forms: Template-driven forms use HTML templates and Angular directives like ngModel, while Reactive forms use programmatic constructs like FormGroup and FormControl in the component class.

🧠 Analogy / Short Story

Think of template-driven forms as manually filling out a form with a pen, while reactive forms are like using a form-filling software that validates inputs and reacts dynamically as you type.

🔧 Technical Explanation

  • 📄 Template-driven Forms:
    • HTML-based with ngModel.
    • Minimal TypeScript code.
    • Suitable for simple forms.
    • Validation via template directives.
    • Requires FormsModule.
  • 🧠 Reactive Forms:
    • Code-driven using FormGroup, FormControl.
    • High scalability and predictability.
    • Better for complex form logic.
    • Strongly typed and testable.
    • Requires ReactiveFormsModule.

🎯 Purpose & Use Case

  • ✅ Use template-driven forms for small forms or quick demos.
  • ✅ Use reactive forms in enterprise-level apps with advanced validation.
  • ✅ Reactive forms are more maintainable and unit-test friendly.

💻 Real Code Example

// Template-driven Form (HTML)
<form #userForm="ngForm" (ngSubmit)="onSubmit(userForm)">
  <input name="username" ngModel required />
</form>

// Reactive Form (Component TS)
import { FormGroup, FormControl, Validators } from '@angular/forms';

form = new FormGroup({
  username: new FormControl('', Validators.required)
});

❓ Interview Q&A

Q1: What is the main difference between template-driven and reactive forms?
A: Template-driven forms use HTML and directives, reactive forms are built with TypeScript code and classes.

Q2: Which form type supports better unit testing?
A: Reactive forms.

Q3: Which form requires FormsModule?
A: Template-driven.

Q4: Which form is better for dynamic form generation?
A: Reactive forms.

Q5: Is ngModel used in reactive forms?
A: No, ngModel is used only in template-driven forms.

📝 MCQs

Q1. Which module is used for reactive forms?

  • FormsModule
  • CommonModule
  • ReactiveFormsModule
  • NgFormModule

Q2. What directive is used in template-driven forms?

  • ngSubmit
  • ngIf
  • ngModel
  • formControl

Q3. Which form type is more scalable?

  • Template-driven Forms
  • Reactive Forms
  • Dynamic Forms
  • Static Forms

Q4. Which Angular form approach is better for dynamic validation?

  • Template-driven
  • Reactive Forms
  • Event-driven
  • Model-driven

Q5. Which form uses FormGroup and FormControl?

  • Template-driven
  • Reactive Forms
  • Hybrid Forms
  • Module Forms

Q6. Which is easier to implement for beginners?

  • Template-driven
  • Reactive
  • Modular
  • Custom

Q7. Which form offers better testability?

  • Template-driven
  • Reactive Forms
  • None
  • Dynamic Forms

Q8. Which uses HTML directives for validation?

  • Reactive
  • Template-driven
  • Dynamic
  • Inline

Q9. What does FormControl manage?

  • HTML template
  • CSS classes
  • Value and validation of a form field
  • Page routing

Q10. Which one allows real-time form state monitoring?

  • Reactive Forms
  • Template-driven
  • Manual Forms
  • FormBuilder

💡 Bonus Insight

You can mix both approaches in Angular using ControlValueAccessor to create reusable form components that work with both template and reactive forms.

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