Does routerLink perform internal navigation without refreshing the page, and what happens when I use <a href in this context?

Issue

I understand that routerLink performs internal navigation without refreshing the page.

However, if I use <a href, does it also perform internal navigation or does it refresh the page?

Solution

Angular is a Single Page Application framework (SPA). Using href can break that design pattern.

href is is provided in HTML, it makes navigation possible, but not through angular components, but by reloading the entire page.

routerLink is provided by angular, and it makes it possible to navigate to a different component inside the application, without reloading the entire page.

While routerLink keeps the state of the page, href does not do so.

Answered By - vbartalis