LIGHTNING WEB COMPONENTS

(LWC) VS. AURA COMPONENTS –

INTERVIEW GUIDE WITH VISUAL DIAGRAMS- BY
RITESH JAIN

Abstract
Here are advanced interview questions with detailed answers, comparison tables, and visual
diagrams to assess expertise in LWC and Aura Components.

Ritesh Jain
[email protected]
Lightning Web Components (LWC) vs. Aura
Components – Interview Guide with Visual
Diagrams- By Ritesh Jain
Here are advanced interview questions with detailed answers, comparison tables, and
visual diagrams to assess expertise in LWC and Aura Components.

1. Core Differences Between LWC and Aura Components

Question: Explain the key architectural and performance differences between Lightning
Web Components (LWC) and Aura Components. Provide real-world scenarios where one is
preferred over the other.

Answer:

Feature Lightning Web Components (LWC) Aura Components

Architecture Based on modern web Based on Aura
standards (ES6+, Custom Framework (proprietary Salesforce
Elements, Shadow DOM). framework).
Performance Faster due to lightweight Slower due to abstraction layers and
rendering and optimized DOM legacy rendering.
updates.
Security Uses Shadow DOM for Uses Lightning Locker Service for
encapsulation. security.
Data Binding One-way data binding (parent-to- Two-way data binding (supports bi-
child). directional updates).
Event Uses Custom Events (DOM-based). Uses Application & Component
Handling Events (Aura-specific).
Learning Easier for modern JavaScript Steeper due to Aura-specific syntax.
Curve developers.

RITESH JAIN 1
When to Use Which?

Scenario Recommended Framework

New Development LWC (better performance, future-proof).
Legacy Migration Aura (if integrating with older components).
Complex Event Handling Aura (if using application-wide events).
Mobile Optimization LWC (faster rendering, better UX).

Visual Comparison:

graph TD
A[Lightning Web Components (LWC)] --> B[Modern Web Standards]
B --> B1(ES6+ JavaScript)
B --> B2(Shadow DOM)
B --> B3(Custom Elements)
A --> C[Performance Optimized]
C --> C1(Fast Rendering)
C --> C2(One-Way Data Flow)

D[Aura Components] --> E[Proprietary Framework]

E --> E1(Aura Runtime)
E --> E2(Two-Way Data Binding)
D --> F[Legacy Support]
F --> F1(Slower Rendering)
F --> F2(Complex Event System)

RITESH JAIN 2
2. Event Handling in LWC vs. Aura
Question: How do you handle events in LWC compared to Aura? Provide a real-world
example where a child component notifies a parent component of a button click.

Answer:

LWC Event Handling

Type html JavaScript

Child Component <!-- childComponent.html --> // childComponent.js
(Dispatches Event) <template> import { LightningElement
<lightning-button label="Click Me" } from 'lwc';
onclick={handleClick}></lightning- export default class
button> ChildComponent extends
</template> LightningElement {
handleClick() {

this.dispatchEvent(new
CustomEvent('buttonclick',
{ detail: { data: 'Clicked!' }
}));
}
}
Parent Component <!-- parentComponent.html --> // parentComponent.js
(Listens to Event) <template> import { LightningElement
<c-child-component } from 'lwc';
onbuttonclick={handleButtonClick}></c- export default class
child-component> ParentComponent extends
<p>Status: {status}</p> LightningElement {
</template> status = 'Waiting...';

handleButtonClick(event) {
this.status =
event.detail.data; //
Updates to "Clicked!"
}
}

RITESH JAIN 3
Aura Event Handling

Type XML(Template) JavaScript(Controller)

Child Component <!-- childComponent.cmp --> // childComponentController.js
(Fires Event) <aura:component> ({
<ui:button label="Click Me" fireEvent : function(component,
press="{!c.fireEvent}" /> event, helper) {
</aura:component> var myEvent =
$A.get("e.c:CustomEvent");
myEvent.setParams({
"message": "Clicked!" });
myEvent.fire();
}
})
Parent Component <!-- parentComponent.cmp --> // parentComponentController.js
(Handles Event) <aura:component> ({
<aura:handler handleEvent :
event="c:CustomEvent" function(component, event) {
action="{!c.handleEvent}"/> component.set("v.status",
<c:childComponent /> event.getParam("message"));
<p>Status: {!v.status}</p> }
</aura:component> })

LWC Event Flow (Bubbling)

sequenceDiagram
participant Child
participant Parent
Child->>Parent: Dispatches CustomEvent (e.g., `buttonclick`)
Parent->>Parent: Listens via `oneventname` (e.g., `onbuttonclick={handler}`)

Aura Event Flow (Complex Hierarchy)

flowchart TB
Child -->|Fires Component Event| Parent
Parent -->|Handles via <aura:handler>| Controller
Parent -->|Fires Application Event| Global_Subscribers

RITESH JAIN 4
3. Data Binding & Communication Between Components
Question: How does data binding work in LWC vs. Aura? Explain with an example where a
parent component passes data to a child component, and the child updates it.

Answer:

LWC (One-Way Binding)

• Parent → Child: Uses @api decorator.

• Child → Parent: Uses events.

LWC Data Binding (One-Way + Events)

Aspect LWC Aura

Binding One-way + explicit events Automatic two-way
Parent → Child @api property {!v.item} syntax
Child → Parent Custom events Automatic attribute updates
JavaScript Required for event handling Optional for basic cases

Example:

Type HTML (Template) JavaScript (Controller)

Parent Component <!-- parent.html --> // parent.js
<template> import { LightningElement } from
<c-child 'lwc';
item-name={itemValue}
onupdate={handleUpdate} export default class Parent extends
></c-child> LightningElement {
</template> itemValue = 'Initial Value';

handleUpdate(event) {
this.itemValue =
event.detail.newValue;
}
}
Child Component <!-- child.html --> // child.js
<template> import { LightningElement, api }
<p>{itemName}</p> from 'lwc';
<button
onclick={updateValue}>Update</button> export default class Child extends
</template> LightningElement {
@api itemName; // Read-only from
parent

updateValue() {
this.dispatchEvent(
new CustomEvent('update', {
detail: { newValue: 'Updated Value' }
})
);

RITESH JAIN 5
 }
}

Note: The event dispatch code in the child component would typically be inside a method
rather than at the class level, but I've kept it as shown in the original example. In a real
implementation

Aura (Two-Way Binding)

1. (Visualization in Tabular Format):

Direction Aura Syntax LWC Equivalent
Parent → {!v.item} (Automatic two-way) item-name={item} (One-way by
Child default)
Child → Automatic when child Requires explicit event dispatch
Parent modifies v.item

Example:

XML (Component Markup) JavaScript

Aura (Two- <!-- parentComponent.cmp --> (No JavaScript logic required for
Way Binding) <aura:component> basic two-way binding in parent)
<aura:attribute name="item"
type="String" default="Initial Value"/>
<c:childComponent item="{!v.item}"/>
</aura:component>
<!-- childComponent.cmp --> (No JavaScript logic required for
<aura:component> basic two-way binding in child)
<aura:attribute name="item"
type="String"/>
<p>{!v.item}</p>
</aura:component>

Note: Aura's automatic two-way binding requires no JavaScript for basic cases, while LWC
requires explicit event handling for parent communication.

Key Differences

Feature LWC Aura

Binding Direction One-way (parent → child) Two-way (bi-directional)
Child Updates Requires events Automatically syncs via v.value
Syntax @api decorator aura:attribute

RITESH JAIN 6
4. Dynamic Component Creation
Question: How do you dynamically create components in LWC vs. Aura? Provide a real-
world scenario where a component is loaded based on user input.

Answer:

LWC Dynamic Component Loading (lwc:dynamic)

flowchart TB
User_Click[User Clicks Button] -->|Triggers import()| Load_Component[Load Component
Dynamically]
Load_Component -->|Renders in div with lwc:dynamic| DOM[Component Appears in DOM]

Detailed Example

HTML (Template) JavaScript (Controller)

LWC Dynamic dynamicLoader.html dynamicLoader.js
Component html javascript
Loading <template> import { LightningElement } from
(lwc:dynamic) <div 'lwc';
lwc:dynamic={dynamicComponent}></div>
<lightning-button export default class DynamicLoader
label="Load Component" extends LightningElement {
onclick={loadComponent} dynamicComponent;
></lightning-button>
</template> async loadComponent() {
// Dynamically import the
component
const { default: CustomCmp } =
await
import('c/customComponent');
this.dynamicComponent =
CustomCmp;
}
}

RITESH JAIN 7
Aura (Using $A.createComponent())

flowchart TB
User_Click[User Clicks Button] -->|Triggers $A.createComponent()| Create_Component
Create_Component -->|Callback sets v.body| Render[Component Renders in {!v.body}]

Code Example:

XML (Markup) JavaScript (Controller)

Aura (Using //dynamicLoader.cmp / dynamicLoaderController.js
$A.createComponent()) xml<aura:component> ({
<aura:attribute name="body" loadComponent :
type="Aura.Component[]"/> function(component) {
<lightning:button label="Load $A.createComponent(
Component" "c:customComponent",
onclick="{!c.loadComponent}"/> {},
{!v.body}</aura:component> function(newCmp) {

component.set("v.body",
newCmp);
}
);
}
})

Full Aura Example with Attributes

$A.createComponent(
"c:dynamicCmp",
{
"aura:id": "dynamicCmp",
"item": component.getReference("v.someValue")
},
function(newCmp, status, error) {
if (status === "SUCCESS") {
component.set("v.body", newCmp);
} else {
console.error("Error loading component: ", error);
}
}
);

Key Differences: Aura vs LWC Dynamic Loading

Feature Aura ($A.createComponent()) LWC (lwc:dynamic + import())

Syntax XML + JS Controller HTML Template + JS Class
Dynamic Render Manually set in v.body Auto-rendered via lwc:dynamic
Loading Mechanism Sync (built-in Aura runtime) Async (ES6 dynamic imports)
Error Handling Callback-based Promise-based (try/catch)
Use Case Legacy dynamic UI Lazy loading components

RITESH JAIN 8
5. Integration with Apex
Question: Compare how LWC and Aura call Apex methods. Explain caching, error handling,
and wire adapters in LWC.

Answer:
Data Fetching: LWC vs Aura

Feature Lightning Web Components Aura Components

(LWC)
Reactive Data @wire (Auto-refreshes when data ❌ Not natively supported
Fetch changes)
Imperative Calls Explicit Apex calls with Promises $A.enqueueAction with callbacks
(then/catch)
Syntax Modern JavaScript (ES6+) Proprietary Aura syntax
Error Handling .catch() for errors response.getState() === "ERROR"
Data Binding Auto-updates UI when @wire data Manual UI updates via set("v.data")
changes
Code Example Reactive (@wire): Imperative Only:
@wire(getContacts) contacts; var action =
Imperative: component.get("c.getContacts");
getContacts().then(data => {...}) $A.enqueueAction(action);

Visualized Data Flow

LWC (@wire Reactive Data)

graph LR
Wire_Adapter -->|Streams Data| Component
Component -->|Auto-Refreshes| UI

LWC (Using @wire & imperative Apex)

LWC (@wire)

graph LR
Apex -->|Push Data| @wire -->|Auto-Update| UI

Aura (Imperative)

graph LR
Controller -->|enqueueAction| Apex -->|Callback| Controller -->|set("v.data")| UI

RITESH JAIN 9
LWC Detailed Examples

Type JavaScript
1. Reactive Data (@wire) import { LightningElement, wire } from 'lwc';
import getContacts from '@salesforce/apex/ContactController.getContacts';
export default class ContactList extends LightningElement {
@wire(getContacts)
contacts; // Auto-refreshes when server data changes

// Optional: Access data/errors

@wire(getContacts)
wiredContacts({ error, data }) {
if (data) console.log(data);
if (error) console.error(error);
}
}
2. Imperative Apex Call loadContacts() {
getContacts() // No @wire
.then(data => this.contacts = data)
.catch(error => console.error(error));
}

Aura Detailed Example

Imperative Call Only

({
loadContacts: function(component) {
var action = component.get("c.getContacts");
action.setCallback(this, function(response) {
var state = response.getState();
if (state === "SUCCESS") {
component.set("v.contacts", response.getReturnValue());
}
if (state === "ERROR") {
console.error(response.getError());
}
});
$A.enqueueAction(action); // Adds to server queue
}

Key Differences

Aspect LWC Aura

Data ✅ Automatic with @wire ❌ Manual updates only
Reactivity
Code Style Declarative + Promises Imperative + Callbacks
Performance Optimized (Minimal server trips Slower (Manual refresh logic
with @wire) required)
Debugging Easier (Native JS promises) Complex (Nested callbacks)

RITESH JAIN 10
When to Use Which?

• Use LWC @wire when:

o You need real-time data refreshes (e.g., record edits).
o Prefer clean, modern JavaScript.
• Use Aura $A.enqueueAction when:
o Maintaining legacy Aura apps.
o Need fine-grained control over server calls.

Conclusion
These visual diagrams and comparison tables help illustrate complex differences
between LWC and Aura Components.

Summary Cheat Sheet:

pie
title When to Use LWC vs. Aura
"New Development (Performance)" : 70
"Legacy Integration" : 20
"Complex Event Systems" : 10

Recommendation:

• Use LWC for new projects (better performance, modern standards).

• Use Aura for legacy compatibility or complex event systems.

Would you like additional scenarios (e.g., error handling flows)? Let me know!

RITESH JAIN 11