**Course Title:** Mastering Angular: Building Scalable Web Applications **Section Title:** Routing and Navigation **Topic:** Configuring routes and router outlets Now that we've introduced routing in Angular, let's dive deeper into configuring routes and router outlets. **Understanding Router Configuration** In Angular, routing is configured using the RouterModule. This module is part of the Angular Router library, which provides a mechanism for navigating between views. To configure routes, we'll use the `@NgModule` decorator to import the RouterModule and provide it with a configuration object. **Basic Routing Configuration** Here's an example of a basic routing configuration: ```typescript import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'; import { RouterModule, Routes } from '@angular/router'; const routes: Routes = [ { path: '', component: HomeComponent }, { path: 'about', component: AboutComponent }, { path: 'contact', component: ContactComponent }, ]; @NgModule({ imports: [RouterModule.forRoot(routes)], exports: [RouterModule] }) export class AppRoutingModule { } ``` In this example, we define an array of routes, where each route is an object with a `path` property and a `component` property. The `path` property specifies the URL path for the route, and the `component` property specifies the component that should be rendered when the route is activated. **Router Outlet** The router outlet is a directive that marks the location where the router should render the component associated with the current route. To use the router outlet, we'll add the `<router-outlet>` element to our application's template: ```html <!-- app.component.html --> <div> <nav> <ul> <li><a routerLink="/">Home</a></li> <li><a routerLink="/about">About</a></li> <li><a routerLink="/contact">Contact</a></li> </ul> </nav> <router-outlet></router-outlet> </div> ``` In this example, we've added a `<nav>` element with links to each route. We've also added a `<router-outlet>` element, which will render the component associated with the current route. **Child Routes** Angular also supports child routes, which allow us to define routes within routes. To define child routes, we'll use the `children` property on a route object: ```typescript const routes: Routes = [ { path: 'user', component: UserComponent, children: [ { path: 'profile', component: UserProfileComponent }, { path: 'settings', component: UserSettingsComponent } ] } ]; ``` In this example, we define a route for `/user` that has two child routes: `/user/profile` and `/user/settings`. **Lazy Loading** Angular also supports lazy loading, which allows us to load routes lazily, when they're needed. To use lazy loading, we'll use the `loadChildren` property on a route object: ```typescript const routes: Routes = [ { path: 'lazy', loadChildren: () => import('./lazy/lazy.module').then(m => m.LazyModule) } ]; ``` In this example, we define a route for `/lazy` that uses the `loadChildren` property to load the `LazyModule` lazily. **Configuring the Router** To configure the router, we'll use the `@NgModule` decorator to import the RouterModule and provide it with a configuration object. We can also use the `extras` property to configure router extras, such as the `enableTracing` property: ```typescript @NgModule({ imports: [RouterModule.forRoot(routes, { enableTracing: true })], exports: [RouterModule] }) export class AppRoutingModule { } ``` In this example, we configure the router to enable tracing. For more information on configuring the router, see the Angular documentation on [Configuring Router Configuration](https://angular.io/guide/router). **Best Practices** * Use meaningful route names and paths. * Use the `children` property to define child routes. * Use lazy loading to load routes lazily. * Use router extras, such as tracing, to debug the router. **Conclusion** In this topic, we've covered configuring routes and router outlets in Angular. We've learned how to define routes, use router outlets, and configure the router. We've also learned about child routes and lazy loading. By following best practices and using the right techniques, we can create scalable and maintainable routing configurations for our Angular applications. **What's next?** In the next topic, we'll cover handling route parameters and query parameters. We'll learn how to use route parameters and query parameters to pass data between routes. **Leave a comment or ask for help** If you have any questions or need help with this topic, please leave a comment below. External links: * [Angular Router](https://angular.io/guide/router) * [Configuring Router Configuration](https://angular.io/guide/router#configuration) * [Lazy Loading](https://angular.io/guide/router#preloading)