How to convert existing project in angular project through VS code?

Question

This is my existing project file structure:

I have already created a frontend project in HTML,CSS, JS and SCSS. No I want to convert it into an Angular project. I know where to add the HTML and CSS codes.
Where can I add the JS,SCSS and lib files in Angular file structure?

Answer 1

Converting a traditional frontend project into an Angular project involves several steps. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to integrate your existing frontend code into a new Angular project:

1. Create a New Angular Project: If you haven't already, start by creating a new Angular project using Angular CLI:

   ng new your-project-name
   

2. Integrating SCSS:

   • If you haven't set up the Angular project with SCSS during the project creation (ng new your-project-name --style=scss), you can manually change the style configuration in angular.json from "styles": ["src/styles.css"] to "styles": ["src/styles.scss"].
   • Then, move your SCSS files into the Angular project. You can put global styles in the src/styles.scss file or any other place within the src/ directory and then import them in styles.scss.

3. Integrating JS:

   • If your JS files are libraries or plugins, it's better to put them in the src/assets/ folder or you can add them in the scripts array in angular.json.
   • If your JS files contain custom logic, it's recommended to integrate that logic into Angular components, services, or modules. Convert your JS into TypeScript and leverage Angular's component-based architecture.

4. Integrating HTML and CSS:

   • Divide your HTML content into logical components and create Angular components for each of them using the CLI (ng generate component component-name or ng g c component-name).
   • Move the associated CSS for each component into its corresponding component's .scss file.

5. Integrating Libraries:

   • If you have library files, you can store them in the src/assets/lib/ directory (you might need to create the lib directory).
   • If these are JS libraries, you can also add the path to them in the scripts array in the angular.json file, so they are bundled with your application.
   • For CSS libraries or styles, add them to the styles array in angular.json.

6. Update index.html:

   • Add necessary meta tags, styles, and scripts in src/index.html.
   • Keep in mind, Angular adds scripts and styles specified in angular.json to this file during the build process, so you don't need to add them manually.

7. Routing: If your project has multiple pages, consider setting up Angular's RouterModule to handle navigation between different components.

8. Refactor JS to TypeScript: It's crucial to understand that Angular uses TypeScript. While you can run plain JavaScript, you might want to take advantage of TypeScript's static typing and features. This step can be a bit involved if your JS code is complex.

9. Test Your Application: After integrating everything, run your Angular development server using:

   ng serve
   

   This will compile your project and start a local development server. Open your browser to http://localhost:4200/ to see your Angular application.

Remember, simply copying and pasting might not be enough, especially for the JavaScript part. Angular has its own lifecycle, and directly manipulating the DOM, as often done in jQuery-based projects, can conflict with Angular's change detection. Consider refactoring the JavaScript to be more Angular-centric, using Angular's built-in directives, services, and other features.