what are the advantages of using 2 MVC architectures(frontend and backend) in same project. AngularJS and Spring MVC

Question

what are the advantages of using 2 MVC architectures(frontend and backend) in same project. AngularJS and Spring MVC. Without using AngularJs, can I update single div data without loading the entire page? Is AngularJS responsible for updating single <div> data out of multiple <div>s without loading entire page? If so, please explain in detail.

Answer 1

Once you have a single-page application you have to make sure all the different parts of that application are consistent, that's what the MVC/MV-Whatever in the front end is doing for you. That's not an issue in an old-school web application because the relevant state is regenerated with each request, but once the updates are coming in bits and pieces then different pieces of the front end need to be coming from the same model and that model needs to get updated consistently.

Obviously you can implement div updates with raw JavaScript, you don't need frameworks just to do AJAX. The JavaScript frameworks are written in JavaScript, after all. The frameworks and libraries do make things easier by doing things like papering over browser inconsistencies and providing convenient and useful features (like databinding in Angular).

The server-side MVC does become less complex and involved than it was in the old-school web application, you have less POST-Redirect-GET going on, the front end is more in control about what it is asking for. The front-end application is decoupled much more from the server-side because that whole server-side view layer of JSPs or Facelets or whatever is greatly reduced or just missing, instead you have services supplying JSON over HTTP and there is a much more limited, well-defined contract.

Answer 2

You can update a single element of your page without using AngularJS. As an alternative, for example, you can use JQuery.

You should wonder for the best approach for your project. This answer explains very well the differences between this two approaches.

As an aside note, AngularJS is not exactly a MVC architecture. Instead, the community has decided to call it MVW (Model View Whatever). Check this source for more details.