Overview

In this article, we will delve into the concept of component directives in Angular, explaining why they are considered directives and how they significantly contribute to the framework's flexibility and power.

What Are Component Directives?

In Angular, component directives are a specific types of directive. These directives encapsulate, styles, and behavior into a single, self-contained unit. They essentially define custom HTML elements and provide a way to create complex, reusable components with their own logic, rendering, and interactivity.

Why Are Component Directives Considered Directives?

It might seem a bit counterintuitive at first to consider components as directives, given that components appear to be a distinct and fundamental building block of Angular applications. However, there are some key reasons why component directives are indeed a type of directive:

Directive Metadata

Similar to other Angular directives, component directives are defined using metadata, specifically the @Component decorator. This metadata specifies how the component should be instantiated, rendered, and interact with the DOM.

Directives of Their Own

Components extend Angular's Directive class, inheriting all the directive features. In other words, components are directives that happen to be more complex and structured. They share many common characteristics with attribute and structural directives, such as the ability to manipulate the DOM and respond to user interactions.

Directives of Behavior

Just like attribute and structural directives, components add behavior to your application. They can respond to event, manage data, and change the appearance of elements, making then directive-like in nature.