Hey there, Angular fans! So, signals are a fairly new concept in Angular but I’m sure many of you out there are using them often. And if you’re anything like me, when using writable signals, you’ve probably found yourself wondering when to use the set() vs. the update() method. Well, in this tutorial, we’re diving into this question to help you understand why you may want to use one over the other.
The new linkedSignal primitive in Angular 19 is a pretty handy new feature. In a previous tutorial we looked at the basics, but in this tutorial, we’ll take it a little further and look at a more advanced feature where we will compare the new and old values of the source signal to provide “smart” signal updates. Ok, let’s get started.
Angular 19 is here and that means that it’s time to learn some new stuff. In this tutorial, we’re getting hands-on with Angular’s latest signal feature, the linkedSignal() function. It’s a powerful way to create signals that are both writable, and that automatically update based on changes in other signals without improperly using the effect() function. Let’s dive right in and see how this new function can streamline reactive updates in your Angular Apps!
Effects in Angular are pretty new but have definitely stirred up some controversy in their short time as part of the framework. Basically as far as I understand it, the main goal with the effect function is to handle things related to signals, that you really have no way to do otherwise. And as the Angular docs point out, “effects are rarely needed in most application code”. But there are some totally valid use cases.