Seeking Advice: Building a Performant TypeScript PDF Generator for Angular – Any Alternatives to CommonJS Libraries?

When it comes to building a performant TypeScript PDF generator for Angular, developers often rely on CommonJS libraries. While these libraries are widely used and provide powerful features, it’s worth exploring alternative options to optimize performance and enhance the user experience. In this article, we will discuss some alternatives to CommonJS libraries for building a performant TypeScript PDF generator in Angular.

1. PDFMake

PDFMake is a popular JavaScript library that allows you to generate PDF files in the browser. It provides a declarative way to define the structure and content of the PDF document using a JSON-like syntax. PDFMake has built-in support for various features like text formatting, tables, images, and more.
To use PDFMake in your Angular project, you can install it via npm:

npm install pdfmake

Once installed, you can import and use PDFMake in your TypeScript code:

import * as pdfMake from 'pdfmake/build/pdfmake';
import * as pdfFonts from 'pdfmake/build/vfs_fonts';

pdfMake.vfs = pdfFonts.pdfMake.vfs;

// Define your document definition
const docDefinition = {
  content: [
    'Hello, World!'
  ]
};

// Generate the PDF
pdfMake.createPdf(docDefinition).open();

2. jsPDF

jsPDF is another popular JavaScript library for generating PDF files. It provides a simple and easy-to-use API for creating PDF documents. jsPDF supports various features like text, images, tables, and more. It also has plugins available for additional functionality.
To use jsPDF in your Angular project, you can install it via npm:

npm install jspdf

Once installed, you can import and use jsPDF in your TypeScript code:

import * as jsPDF from 'jspdf';

// Create a new instance of jsPDF
const doc = new jsPDF();

// Add content to the document
doc.text('Hello, World!', 10, 10);

// Save the PDF
doc.save('output.pdf');

3. Puppeteer

If you’re looking for more advanced PDF generation capabilities, you can consider using Puppeteer. Puppeteer is a Node.js library developed by Google that provides a high-level API for controlling headless Chrome or Chromium browsers. It allows you to generate PDF files by rendering HTML and CSS.
To use Puppeteer in your Angular project, you can install it via npm:

npm install puppeteer

Once installed, you can import and use Puppeteer in your TypeScript code:

import * as puppeteer from 'puppeteer';

async function generatePDF() {
  const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
  const page = await browser.newPage();

  // Generate the PDF by rendering HTML
  await page.setContent('Hello, World!');
  await page.pdf({ path: 'output.pdf' });

  await browser.close();
}

generatePDF();

Conclusion

While CommonJS libraries are commonly used for generating PDF files in TypeScript and Angular projects, there are alternative options available that can help improve performance and provide additional features. PDFMake, jsPDF, and Puppeteer are all viable alternatives, each with its own set of features and capabilities. Consider your specific requirements and choose the library that best suits your needs.

Seeking Advice: Building a Performant TypeScript PDF Generator for Angular – Any Alternatives to CommonJS Libraries?